


A Star Wars Family Summer

by BaronVonChop



Series: A Star Wars Family [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, But there are definitely some young crushes, Camping, Day At The Beach, Family, Fluff, Gen, It gets shippier in the final chapter, Not too shippy, Rey has a crush on everyone, Sharing a Meal, Summer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-11
Updated: 2016-10-28
Packaged: 2018-08-14 12:59:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 25,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8014981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BaronVonChop/pseuds/BaronVonChop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rey visits her family and friends for some summer fun. Will things be as picture-perfect as she hopes?</p>
<p>Part of an AU series where Rey, Finn, Poe, and Ben (who calls himself 'Kylo Ren') are kids in the modern world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Barbecue

Rey leans the passenger seat back and watches the sky through her window. Fat white clouds float on a bright blue sky. Rey smiles. She is wearing a light blue shirt and white shorts, so she matches the sky. Rey is excited about seeing everyone again, but for now, she is happy to enjoy the moment.

“You can roll the window down if you want,” Luke says, his voice soft so as not to disturb her reverie. “I’ll bet the air feels nice today.”

Rey reaches a lazy hand up and rolls down her window. A warm breeze washes over her, ruffling her hair and lulling her into a pleasant doze.

Rey awakes when the car stops. She sits up to see where they are. It takes her a few moments to recognize Finn’s house. She only saw it once before, in the snow. Everything seemed strange and otherworldly then. Now, the house looks like an ordinary house on an ordinary street, with a green lawn and a gray car in the driveway.

The front door opens and Finn hurries out, wearing a tan t-shirt and khaki cargo shorts. He waves to Rey as he approaches the car, and Rey waves back enthusiastically. She turns to Luke. “Dad, I’m going to sit in the back with Finn.”

“Okay! Be sure to buckle up.”

“Ugh, Dad!” She hops out of the car. “Hi, Finn!”

“Hi, Rey!” He hasn’t stopped grinning since he came out of the house.

Rey opens the back door for Finn, then climbs in after him. They both buckle up before Luke can remind them. For Rey, seeing Finn outside of school makes him seem more present somehow, more himself, and she is glad of it.

Luke turns to look back at Finn. “Hi, Finn. How’s your summer so far?”

“It’s been kind of boring,” Finn replies, his smile not wavering. “But it’s only just begun, and I’ve really been looking forward to today!”

Luke laughs. “I can tell.”

“Thanks for giving me a ride.”

“Any time!” Luke replies, as they pull away from the curb. “I’m glad your parents let you join us.”

Rey adds, “I was kinda surprised that they did.”

“Well, they had a long talk with your Aunt Leia, and she was somehow able to convince them.”

“She’s awesome!” Rey enthuses.

Luke smiles fondly. “She has that gift.”

“Sorry your summer’s been kinda boring,” Rey says.

Finn shrugs. “It’s not so bad. It beats going to school!”

As they get closer to Leia and Han’s place, Finn and Rey start craning their necks to be the first to see it. The house comes into view, and the sight of Han’s van in the driveway leaves no room for doubt that this is the right place. The compact car next to it must be Lando’s. Rey exclaims, “We’re here!”

Luke parks on the curb. “Who’s going to help me carry in the things we brought?”

“I can help!” Rey offers.

“Me too!” says Finn.

They meet behind the car, where Luke pops open the trunk. He lifts out a blue plastic cooler with a white lid, which he hands to Finn. “Do you have it? It’s heavy.”

“I’ve got it, no problem!” says Finn. He teeters a bit as he carries it toward the house.

Luke turns to Rey. “Help me carry these,” he says, pulling some collapsible lawn chairs from the trunk. Rey holds out her arms and Luke places three chairs into her arms, then lifts two more onto his shoulder while he closes the trunk with one hand and locks the car.

Leia opens the door with a big smile. “Finn! Hey, how are you? Come on in! Han and Lando are in the back getting things set up. Do you remember the way?”

“Through the dining room, right?”

“That’s right!”

“No, it’s left!” Luke calls from behind Rey. Finn turns back, confused.

Rey rolls her eyes. “The dining room is to the left.” Finn raises his eyebrows, and Rey sighs. “It’s my dad’s idea of a joke.”

Luke laughs.

Finn hefts the cooler and strides into the house while Rey walks up to Leia. Leia beams at her niece. “Hi, welcome! Just follow Finn out the back.”

As they walk through the house, Rey spots Poe in the kitchen making a salad. “Hey, Poe!” she calls.

“Rey! Finn! Hi!”

Finn says, “I’m glad you’re here, too!”

“I wouldn’t miss it!” says Poe.

Rey wants to stay and talk, but the chairs are getting heavier, so she settles for, “I’ll see you out back!” She tells herself that wasn’t too lame.

“I’m almost done,” Poe replies. “I’ll be out in a few.”

Rey is not quite sure where she stands with Poe. He had felt like a member of her family over the Christmas break, but since then, she has hardly had any contact with him. They added each other on some social media sites after the Christmas break, and since then they have exchanged a few messages and liked each other’s posts, but that’s it. She reminds herself that he has his own friends, and he is older than her, but she can’t help but wish that she could see him more often.

Finn and Rey reach the backdoor, which is closed. Through the window, they can see Han, Lando, and Ben in the backyard. Han and Lando have their backs to the door as they inspect the grill. Ben leans against the fence, watching a video on his phone.

Finn knocks on the door with his elbow. Ben glances up and looks at them blankly for several moments. Moving slowly, he first leans away from the fence, then turns his phone off, and finally puts it in his pocket. Each separate motion is deliberate and unhurried. By the time he finally opens the door, Finn’s arms are starting to wobble, and Rey can feel her shoulders cramping.

Ben looks at them. His hair has gotten longer, so that it hangs into his eyes, and it looks freshly dyed. “Hey.”

“Hi,” says Finn, quickly hustling past him and putting the cooler down outside. “Whew.”

The moment Rey steps outside, there is a happy bark, and Chewbacca rushes across the yard. He nearly causes her to drop the chairs, which she leans, still folded, against the side of the house. “Chewie!” she says, leaning down to pet his head. She looks at her cousin. “Hi, Ben. Kylo Ren. How’s your vacation so far?” She has practiced saying his name so that she can say it without sounding sarcastic.

Ben shrugs, though he looks pleased that she called him ‘Kylo Ren.’ “It’s okay. I guess.” He pauses, then finally asks, trying to sound uninterested, “How’s yours?”

“Pretty great, and it’s getting better!” Rey says, hoping that she can keep things positive with Ben. Her cousin studies her, as though wondering how anyone could consider spending time with his family a great time.

Han straightens from the grill and turns to them. “Hey, everyone! Glad you all made it.”

“I opened the door for them,” Ben points out.

“You’re a real hero,” Han says.

Lando gives Han a look. “You haven’t gotten any less sarcastic in your old age,” he says. He turns to Rey, Finn, and Luke. “It’s good to see you all again.”

“It’s great to see you, too!” says Rey. “And Uncle Han, thanks for having us over!”

“What’s this?” Han asks, looking at the cooler. “You didn’t have to bring anything!”

Luke opens the lid. “There’s water and juice. We also brought some sodas, in case anyone feels like drinking carbonated sugar water.”

Han chuckles and shakes his head. “Are you sure you can live with yourself if someone were to drink a soda?” He looks at the folded chairs leaning against the house. “Oh, I should have told you, we have a bunch of folding chairs in the garage. You didn’t need to bring your own!”

“You may already have some,” says Luke, walking over to one. “But do they have…” he opens the chair with a flourish and places it on the lawn. “...armrest cup holders?” He gestures to the mesh cup holders sewn into the fabric of the chair.

Leia joins them, clapping. “Amazing! We’ll be living like royalty with these.” She turns to Finn, Rey, and Ben. “Help me bring things out from the house. Ben, can you grab the card table from downstairs? Rey, Finn, let’s start gathering things together in the kitchen.”

They join Poe in the kitchen. “Just putting on the finishing touches!” Poe says, adding dressing and sprinkling sunflower seeds on the salad.

“Ben’s bringing up a table,” says Leia. “Once that’s set up, you can take the salad outside.”

Rey, Finn, and Leia gather things from the kitchen. Ben reappears, lugging a square card table with its legs folded in. He pauses by the back door to find a plastic tablecloth, which he slings over his shoulder before opening the door and taking the table outside.

“One more thing,” says Leia. She opens a cupboard and takes out several bags of chips, which she places on top of the stack of plates Finn is holding. “All right! Let’s take all this outside.” She pauses when she sees Finn’s eyes go wide, staring at the chips.

“So many snacks…” Finn whispers.

“Is something wrong?” Leia asks.

Rey notices that Finn has not yet started to move toward the door. “Finn?” she asks.

Finn looks at her. “You’re allowed to eat snacks... with your meal?”

“Well, yeah!” says Rey.

Poe adds, “It’s a barbecue. It’s not like it’s a normal meal.”

“It won’t be much of a barbecue if we just stand around in the kitchen,” says Leia. “So come on!”

Outside, they find that Ben has extended three of the legs of the card table, but he is having trouble with the fourth. “It’s stuck,” he grumbles, gritting his teeth and straining as he pulls the fourth leg. “It’s been too long since we used the table, so clearly it’s rusted solid.” Chewbacca watches, cocking his head to the side as though wondering why Ben is making such funny faces.

Leia takes some condiments from Rey. “Rey, dear, won’t you help my son before he hurts himself?”

Rey steps over. “Mind if I try?”

“Gotta channel my anger!” Ben says, giving a big heave with his jaw clenched and his eyes squeezed shut. The leg does not budge. Defeated, Ben steps back from the table, waving Rey forward. “Have at it. There’s no way that leg will ever--”

He stops before he can even finish his sentence as Rey pulls the leg out with a squeak of metal. She locks it into position and stands the table upright. Ben looks dejected, yet impressed despite himself.

Rey gives him a small smile. “You loosened it for me.”

“Yeah,” says Ben, looking around at the others to gauge their reactions. “I mean, obviously.” Finn rolls his eyes while Poe smirks. Trying to recover his dignity, Ben opens the tablecloth and puts it on the table. “Okay, it’s ready.”

They load up the table with the things from the kitchen. Luke walks over to Han and Lando. “How’s that grill coming along?” he asks.

“We’ve almost got it lit,” says Han defensively.

“Actually,” Lando adds, with a humble smile, “I think we could use some help.” Han gives him a hurt look for admitting defeat.

Luke waves Leia over, and the four of them gather around the grill. After conferring for a little while, Luke turns to the kids. “Why don’t you check the garage for a game to play? It may be a while.”

Leia glances at the sky. “I hope it doesn’t take too long. It looks like those clouds are heading this way.”

Lando frowns and checks the weather app on his phone. “The forecast this morning was for sunny skies, but now it says to expect scattered showers. I hate it when they alter the forecast.”

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Han grumbles.

“What games do you have?” Poe asks Ben.

Ben heads into the house, dragging his feet and slouching. “Don’t get excited. Nothing fun.”

“Anything can be fun when played with the right people!” Finn insists. Rey thinks it would sound cheesy coming from anyone else--okay, maybe it sounds cheesy coming from Finn, too--but when he says it, he sounds like he really means it.

Ben shows them around the garage. “There’s badminton,” he says, gesturing to a hopelessly tangled net, “bowls,” indicating a box containing several metal balls and a smaller wooden one, “and croquet.” He points to a rack of croquet mallets, balls, and wickets. “We’ve also got a bunch of different things to throw.” There is a sagging cardboard box full of foam footballs, flying discs and rings, rubber balls, and other toys.

“We could play Ultimate Frisbee,” Poe suggests.

“In our yard?” Ben asks, his voice leaden.

“How about croquet?” asks Rey. She pulls a mallet from its stand and gives it a swing. “I remember playing it with our parents when we were younger.”

“That could be fun,” says Poe.

“Yeah!” says Finn. Then, after a moment’s thought, “You’ll have to teach me the rules.”

“I guess it’s as good a game as any,” Ben grumbles. He grabs the rack of balls and starts for the backyard.

The coals are burning in the grill when Rey and the others emerge. Finn watches them, entranced. “Looks like we won’t have much time for games,” he says.

“You might as well get started,” says Han. “It will take a little time for the coals to burn down.” As Ben, Poe, and Finn head to an open part of the lawn to start setting up, Rey sees Han glance at the sky.

Rey joins Ben and helps him set up the wickets while Poe teaches Finn the rules. Ben is surprisingly fastidious when it comes to positioning the wickets, especially given how much energy he puts into looking like he would rather be doing something else. After Ben makes Rey move two of the wickets she placed, Rey decides to draw the line. She turns to Chewbacca, who has come over to sniff at the wickets.

“What do you think, Chewie? Is this a good place?” She pushes the last wire wicket into the soil.

Ben begins to say something, but Chewbacca cuts him off with a bark.

“Yes,” says Rey, raising her chin as she pats the old dog’s head, “I think it’s perfect there, too.”

Ben crosses his arms but does not say anything as Poe and Finn come over. Finn gives his mallet an enthusiastic flourish. “I’m ready to go!” he says.

“Looks like everything’s set up,” says Poe. “Should we start?”

“Some of the wickets are still crooked,” Ben grumbles.

Leia calls over, “Our lawn is so lumpy, some crooked wickets aren’t going to make much of a difference. Just play and have fun!”

Rey, Ben, Finn, and Poe line up by the starting point and begin. Ben plays aggressively, going after the other players’ balls and launching them with obvious relish. Finn tries to concentrate on getting from one wicket to the next, which means that Ben blindsides him several times. Poe demonstrates excellent aim, though the lawn turns out to be just as lumpy as Leia had predicted.

As Luke watches the game, he observes, “Wow, the uneven lawn has really levelled the playing field!” Rey wishes her dad would stop trying to tell jokes, but at least Poe and Finn chuckle a little.

Poe is a great sport, giving the other players suggestions and encouragement. Finn and Rey gladly accept his offers to help, and Rey has a pulse-quickening moment when Poe helps her adjust her stance. Ben, predictably, bristles at Poe’s attempts to give him advice, and he starts doing the opposite of whatever Poe recommends. Rey catches Poe smiling cheekily and begins to suspect that he is doing it on purpose.

As the game goes on, the light changes from the gathering clouds. The gloom affects everyone’s playing, and their banter dies down along with the light. When Lando finally places the burgers on the grill, the players start watching it between turns, as though willing the food to cook faster.

To take her mind off the grill, Rey concentrates on lining up her shots between turns, trying to sense how the ball will roll and weave on the bumpy grass. Despite Poe leading for most of the game, Rey gets a great run of shots, clearing two wickets and making it to the final post in a single turn.

“That was awesome!” says Finn. The end of the game has raised his mood, and he comes over to put an arm around Rey’s shoulders.

Poe shakes Rey’s hand. “Great technique! How did you do that?”

“I don’t know,” Rey laughs. “Luck, I guess.”

Han calls over from the grill, “It’s always great to have luck on your side! What do you think, Luke?”

Luke shrugs. “It might have been luck.” He gives his chin a thoughtful rub, with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

Ben tosses his mallet down, trying to make it look like he does not care that he came in last. “Are those burgers about done?”

Lando lifts one from the grill. “First batch is ready to go! Who gets the first one?”

Rey wants to cheer with relief.

Everyone hesitates, not wanting to appear greedy. Leia comes over and gives Rey a gentle push. “I think our victorious champion should go first!” Rey tries to decline the offer, but Han, Lando, and her dad all agree with Leia, waving her forward. She turns to check on Poe and Finn, who are both smiling at her. Even Ben appears more curious than anything else.

“Well, all right,” she says, putting a hamburger bun on a plate. Lando hands Leia the spatula, and Leia presents the burger to Rey.

“To the croquet champion, long may she reign!” Leia says, and the others laugh and applaud. Rey smiles and hopes she is only blushing a little. She starts to pack lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and pickles onto her burger, then some ketchup and mustard. Finally, she fills the empty spaces on her plate with several handfuls of chips. She grabs a mango lemonade from the cooler and sits in one of the chairs.

Rey takes a bite of the burger. The bun is soft enough to have absorbed the juices of the burger and the condiments, while still being strong enough to keep the burger from falling apart. The lettuce is crisp and delicate. The tomatoes, onions, and pickles taste fresh and flavorful. The burger patty is perfect: the outside is just a little crisp without being dry, while the inside is juicy without being too moist.

The burger is so good that Rey has to say something about it before she is even finished chewing the first bite. “This is really delicious,” she says.

“I’m glad,” says Leia. “Because I don’t know how many more we’ll have time to make.”

For a moment, it seemed like the burgers had gotten everyone’s minds off the weather, but now those worried looks return.

Han frowns up at the sky. “We’ll see how many more burgers we can grill before it starts to rain,” he says. “But I’m afraid this barbecue is going to be cut short.”

Lando pulls his phone out again. “Now it says we’re going to have rain through the afternoon and evening. This forecast is getting worse all the time.”

Even before Rey has finished her burger, she can already feel the first few drops of rain on her head.

“Well, that didn’t take long,” Ben gripes. “So much for our barbecue.” He gives his half-eaten burger a dispirited look.

“It’s just a few drops of rain,” says Leia. “You’re not made of sugar.”

“If you were, you’d be sweeter,” Poe says. Finn laughs, several chip crumbs scattering over his plate. Ben glares at Poe, and Poe grins in reply. Rey wants to tell them to cut it out, because everyone’s already on edge, but she is afraid that might just make things worse.

Rey finishes her burger. In case it was the only one she’ll have that day, she says, “That was really good!” Then, tentatively, “Do you think I’ll be able to have another?”

“We’ve got four more on the grill for us old folks,” Han says. “So everyone will get a burger, but that may have to be it.”

Everyone’s faces fall at that. Finn asks, “No hot dogs?” As if in answer to his question, a light, misting rain starts to fall.

“Let’s get this other stuff inside before it gets soggy,” says Luke. “Come on, no point in standing around staring up at the sky.”

They start gathering things and bringing them inside, where they use paper towels to wipe the raindrops off everything. Leia gives Rey an old towel so that she can wipe down Chewie, who seems to be the only one in good spirits. A minute later, Han and Lando bring in the last of the burgers, which the grown-ups eat inside. Outside, the rain falls steadily.

The grown-ups eat their burgers while the kids stand around, unsure of what to do next. The steady sound of rain on the windows hushes conversation. The loudest sound is Finn dejectedly munching chips out of a bag. Chewie sniffs Rey’s hand, and she pats him absently

Poe asks, “You guys want to play a video game or something?”

There is not much enthusiasm for his suggestion. Ben announces, “I’m going up to my room.” Nobody does anything to stop him, so he heads up.

Rey looks at Poe and Finn. “Maybe we could watch something on TV?”

“Maybe some X-Files?” asks Finn.

Poe shrugs. “Fine by me.”

Nobody seems too enthusiastic about it, but it’s something to do, so they go into the living room. Rey checks the cabinet by the television for the DVD box, and they try to remember which episode they were on. Rey looks up some episode synopses on her phone to help them find the right one.

“I wish I could remember better,” Poe sighs, gritting his teeth. “What we watched over the holidays is blending together with stuff I remember from other times I’ve watched X-Files.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll remember!” says Finn, making an effort to stay upbeat. Rey gives him a smile of gratitude to encourage him, and he returns it with a shaky smile of his own.

“Maybe it was the episode where Scully gets kidnapped…” Poe begins, his brow furrowed with concentration.

Finn nods. “That sounds right!”

Poe pauses. “Or maybe it was the one where Skinner gets beat up…”

“I’m sure that’s it!” says Finn. He looks at Rey, and she gives him a quick thumbs-up.

Poe glances at Finn. “Are you even trying to remember, or are you just agreeing with everything I say?” Finn’s eyes go wide in shock. He glances at Rey, but she doesn’t know what to say. Poe continues, “Look, I can tell you’re trying to keep things positive, but give it a rest, will ya?”

Finn’s shoulders slump and he lowers his eyes to the carpet. Poe looks away, his expression unreadable. Rey’s heart sinks, and she regrets having encouraged Finn’s effort to try to improve the mood. Seeing Poe and Finn like that, Rey feels acutely how much older Poe is. She wonders if that’s why Poe can’t bring himself to apologize.

To break the silence, Rey makes a quick judgement call about which episode to watch and puts the disc into the machine. She starts the episode and hurries to the couch. Poe and Finn fall silent as the episode begins, though the atmosphere in the room remains tense.

As Rey sits down between the two boys, she gets a feeling in her stomach that this was not a good idea. Not only are they both in a bad mood, but it feels worse since Rey had been looking forward to this day. Chewie, perhaps sensing how Rey is feeling, lies down in front of her, his soulful brown eyes looking up at her with compassion.

As the episode continues, Poe and Finn stare fixedly at the screen. Nothing in the episode, whether funny, tense, or gross, gets the slightest reaction out of them. Rey has a gut-clenching realization that she is in danger of ruining her fond memories of sitting between Poe and Finn while watching X-Files over the Christmas break. She can feel tears pricking her eyes, so she gets up and goes into the kitchen. Chewbacca follows her, his head down.

She stands in the kitchen, wondering what to do. She can hear the grown-ups talking in the dining room, catching up on the lives of their mutual acquaintances. Rey rubs Chewie’s head, running her fingers through his fur. After a minute, Leia gets up and comes into the kitchen. Rey turns away, pretending to be looking at the bags of chips sitting on the kitchen counter where they were left.

“Is something wrong?” Leia asks, placing a gentle hand on Rey’s back.

Rey takes a shaky breath, determined not to let the tears fall. There would be no going back then, and the day would be truly ruined. “I wish it weren’t raining.”

Leia nods. “I know. But there’s nothing we can do about that. At least you get to spend time with Finn and Poe, right?”

Rey sighs. “I know, I guess. It’s just… not how I was hoping today would go.”

Leia does not say anything, but something about her quiet presence makes Rey feel better. After a while, Rey’s eyes return to the chips. She grabs two of the bags. “Might as well eat these, right?”

Leia gives Rey an encouraging smile. “Right.”

Rey marches into the living room, ready to do what it takes to brighten the mood. Nevertheless, when she sees her friends staring silently at the screen, barely acknowledging that she has returned, her determination wavers. She mentally steels herself, sits down between them, and thrusts a bag of chips into each of their hands.

It takes them a moment, but they start to eat. At least the crunching of chips breaks up the stony silence. Before the episode ends, both Finn and Poe have extended the bags of chips to her, which is the most interaction she has had with them since the episode began. It is progress.

When the episode is over, Finn gives his bag of chips a doleful look. “I wish we could be eating these with burgers.”

Poe glances over at him. “And hot dogs. That’d be good.”

Finn nods. “Yeah, and hot dogs.”

Despite the cheerless nature of their conversation, Rey is happy just to see them agreeing with each other. If only they could have burgers and hot dogs… but the rain shows no signs of letting up.

Then it comes to her. “You’re right!” she declares.

Finn and Poe look at her, then at each other. “We are?” Finn asks, tentative.

“You can pan-fry burgers, right? And hot dogs too?”

Poe hesitates, then says, “It’s not the same.”

“So what?” Rey demands, and neither of them has a response to that. “Come on!”

She walks into the dining room. The grown-ups look up at her. “We’ve got all these burgers and hot dogs, and we want to eat them, so why not fry them up?”

Han runs a hand over his jaw. “It could work.”

Lando gives a resolute nod. “I think it’s a great idea.”

Luke and Leia grin at each other. Rey finds herself smiling, too.

Lando stands. “C’mon, where are your big pans?” Leia and Han help him get some pans out and put them on the stove.

The banging of pots and pans draws Ben down the stairs. “What’s going on?”

“We’re continuing the barbecue indoors!” Rey says, with a growing spark of pride. She is worried that this may still go wrong, but the scent of frying burgers smells like hope.

Leia asks, “What do you kids want to do while the pans warm up?”

Finn makes a quiet suggestion: “We could watch another episode of X-Files.”

Poe puts an arm around Finn’s shoulders. “An excellent suggestion!” Finn looks at him, surprised. Poe looks Finn in the eyes. “Sorry I snapped at you earlier.”

Finn shrugs one shoulder. “It’s okay. I know I should dial it down sometimes.” He gives Poe a tentative smile, which Poe returns with a genuine smile of his own.

Ben follows them into the living room. Rey is surprised that he is joining them, but perhaps he only wants to stay close to where the food is, for fear of being left out.

They are not far into the episode when Han calls over, “The first batch is done!”

Ben leans toward the kitchen, “I’ll take a hot dog, with mustard and relish, no ketchup, and can you toast the bun a bit? Not too much, though.”

Luke comes in with a hot dog on a plate.

“That was fast. Did you toast the bun?” Ben asks.

“Sorry sir, the living room is outside our delivery area,” Luke says. “You’ll have to pick up your order at the restaurant.” He takes a bite out of his hot dog. Rey is just glad he didn’t try to make a joke about toasted buns.

Ben pauses the episode with a sigh. Then, as though worried his sigh did not carry all the way to the kitchen, he turns in that direction and lets out an even louder sigh. He slowly trudges toward the kitchen, making a show of each step, trying to demonstrate what an injustice it is that he has to go get his own food. In the end, he makes such a production out of the short trip that Rey, Finn, and Poe beat him to the kitchen.

Rey takes the opportunity to grab two hot dogs. When he sees her choice, Lando asks, “Did you see the chili on the stove?” Sure enough, there is a pot of chili heating on the stove. “You can’t get that at an ordinary barbecue!”

“That’s true!” says Rey. She spoons chili onto both hot dogs, then takes them back into the living room. Chewie lifts his head to see what’s on her plate. Rey lets him take a look and a sniff, and she gently pushes his head away when he starts to get within licking distance of her food.

“Looks like Chewie’s taken an interest,” says Luke.

Rey looks up at her dad and sees the thoughtful look on his face. “Dad, if you’re trying to think of a joke about hot dogs, or chili dogs that are chilly, you don’t have to.”

“Wait, I’ve almost got one. Chewie was just--”

“Dad!” Rey exclaims. “No puns!”

Luke chuckles and relents.

Leia, Han, and Lando come out to join them in the living room, bringing extra chairs so that everyone has a place to sit. The bags of chips make their way up and down the room as the next episode plays. People laugh, cringe, and make snarky comments throughout the episode. Rey can’t seem to stop smiling.

When the episode is over, Lando stands. “Well, I should probably get going. Thanks for everything.”

“You’re very welcome!” says Leia as everyone says their goodbyes.

“Do you want a lift, Poe?” Lando asks.

“Sure!” says Poe, standing up from the couch.

“We should probably head out, too,” Luke says. “Finn, I suppose you’ll be wanting a ride back?”

Finn gulps. “If that’s okay,” he says quickly.

“Yeah, I guess you could tag along,” Luke says.

“Of course we’re taking you,” Rey says. “My dad’s just kidding.” She gives her father a look.

They gather up the folding chairs and the cooler and carry them to the front door.

“Thanks for having us over, Aunt Leia and Uncle Han!” Rey says. She gives them both hugs. She leans down and rubs Chewie’s head. “You be good!” Despite her admonition, he tries to lick her face, earning a laugh from Leia. Finally, she says to her cousin, “See you around, Ben! I hope your vacation gets better.”

Ben shrugs. “See ya.” Well, it’s something.

They meet Poe and Lando by the cars outside. The rain has died down somewhat, but it is still falling enough that they do not want to stand around too long.

“Thanks for your help at the barbecue,” Rey tells Lando as Luke loads the things into the car. “Everything was delicious!”

“I’m glad you liked it!” says Lando. “It’s a shame about the rain, but I think it was all okay in the end.”

Poe gives Rey a warm smile. “I think it was your suggestion to continue the barbecue indoors that saved the day. Everyone else was too busy being bummed about the rain. You’re pretty cool. I hope you know that.”

Rey isn’t sure what to say, so she just smiles. The rain doesn’t even seem that cold any more.

“Thanks for teaching me how to play croquet!” says Finn.

They say their final goodbyes and get into the cars. As Luke drives them to Finn’s house, Rey and Finn sit and watch the rain gather on the windshield before getting pushed off by the windshield wipers. The shushed sound of the car’s tires on the wet road and the drumming of the raindrops on the roof lulls Rey into a content, quiet mood. She inwardly forgives the rain for almost ruining the barbecue.

When they reach Finn’s house, he pauses before opening the door.

“Hey, Rey?” he asks.

“Yeah?”

“I’m glad it’s summer!” He grins.

She grins back. “Me, too!”

He gets out of the car, quickly closes the door, and hurries through the rain to his front door. Luke waits until he is inside where it is dry before driving off.


	2. Camping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke takes Rey and her friends (and her cousin) camping.

Sunlight pours through forest leaves onto a cabin in the woods on a beautiful summer afternoon. A car drives up the dirt road leading to the little cabin, followed a few moments later by a second car. Both cars park in front of the cabin. Luke and Rey emerge from one car, and Poe and Finn emerge from the other.

Rey stretches after the long car ride, looking up at the trees. The wind stirs the leaves, producing a steady rustle punctuated by the singing of unseen birds.

Luke leans against the car. “Well, here we are! Is it the way you remember it?”

“It is!” says Rey. Too excited to prevent the corniness, she adds, “It may be even better.”

Poe and Finn walk over. “What a beautiful place!” Poe says.

“Do you really own this cabin?” Finn asks.

“It was left to me by a very old friend,” Luke says, smiling to himself.

Rey never met Yoda, but her dad has told a lot of stories about him. “Years ago, my dad knew a weird old guy named Yoda who lived out here by himself. My dad stayed out here for a while, learning some hippie stuff and living off the grid. Since Yoda didn’t have any family, he left the cabin to my dad when he died.”

“Cool!” says Finn.

Poe looks at Luke. “Was Yoda his first name or his last name?”

Luke shrugs. “I don’t know.”

Poe crosses his arms, skeptical. “It never came up?”

“Yo da one who’s curious,” says Luke, chuckling at his joke.

Rey exhales loudly. “Well, that didn’t take long. We haven’t even started getting things out of the cars yet.” Poe and Finn both smiled at the joke, but Rey can’t tell if they are just being polite.

“Oh, come on,” says Luke. “It wasn’t that bad. And speaking of getting things out of the cars…” He knocks on the window of the car. “Are you coming out, or have you decided to spend the weekend in the car?”

A loud groan sounds from inside the car, and Ben’s shaggy head emerges. He climbs out of the back seat, his lanky frame unfolding one joint at a time. Once he is free of the car, he takes his time stretching his arms, legs, back, and neck, grumbling the whole time.

Rey says, “You know, I said you could sit in the front.”

“What?” asks Poe, feigning surprise, “and miss such a golden opportunity for complaining?”

Ben gives Poe a dark look. “It wouldn’t have made any difference.”

“Well, if you say so,” says Poe.

Luke opens the trunk. “Let’s start bringing stuff inside.”

Everything inside the cabin turns out to be covered in dust. Rey sneezes the moment she walks through the door. She has not been here in years, but nothing has changed since the last time she visited. The cabin’s main room has a large, lumpy couch, a few low bookshelves, and some rough-carved chairs. A wood burning stove half-covered by a sheet stands on the right. The far side of the room becomes a small kitchen next to the back door. To the left is a short hallway. On one side is the bathroom and a small storage closet, and on the other side is the only bedroom.

As Rey and Finn dump their bags on the floor in front of the couch, Finn whispers, “I’m surprised your cousin wanted to come on this trip at all.”

“I’m not sure he did,” admits Rey. “My dad asked my aunt and uncle if we could borrow their tent, and so I guess they just assumed that Ben was coming, too.” She tries to keep her voice low, but when she turns around, Ben is closer than she realized. He drops his backpack on the ground with a huff. Rey wonders if that was a regular huff, or if he heard what she said. She hurriedly adds to Finn, “I mean, he’s welcome to come, of course,” but by then Ben has already turned and left.

Luke goes around the room opening windows. Eddies of dust, disturbed by their movements, lift into the air, swirling in the light.

“How can I help?” asks Poe, and Finn and Rey step up as well.

“There should be a broom in the closet there,” says Luke, nodding toward the hallway. “Rey, would you show him where? Finn, there are some dishes in the cupboard below the sink. We should probably wash those before anyone uses them. Let’s see if the pump still works.” He walks over to the sink and turns it on. It gurgles at first, and then water sputters from the faucet. After a few moments, it turns into a steady stream.

Rey leads Poe to the closet, which is crammed full of things. Rey wrestles a broom and dustpan out from behind boxes of paper towels and toilet paper in packaging that is decades out of date.

“I thought we were here to camp, not clean,” Ben gripes to nobody in particular. He flops down onto the couch, then immediately regrets it as a cloud of dust billows up from the couch, enveloping him.

“Good thinking, Ben,” says Luke. “We need to dust the furniture, too!” He drops a cloth into the coughing, flailing cloud around his nephew.

Ben stumbles clear, with dust clinging to his clothes, skin, and hair. He lets out a long, low moan.

Poe laughs. “I wonder if this cabin has one of those old-fashioned rug beaters? We could take you into the back yard, and I’d be happy to thwack all that dust off of you!”

Rey walks up beside her cousin and grabs his upper arm. “Come on,” she says. She steers him toward the kitchen sink. Luke moistens a paper towel and hands it to her. She gives it to Ben. “Here, clean yourself up.”

Ben wipes his eyes, nose, and mouth. “Thanks,” he says. He tosses the dust-smeared paper towel aside and reaches for another one to continue cleaning his face.

Rey goes back to helping clean the cabin. Since Ben is not contributing, she takes on the task of dusting the furniture. As she cleans the books on the bookshelves, she glances over the titles. There are books of all sorts, from ancient history to paperback novels, from philosophy to humor, from classic literature to children’s books. She wonders if her dad got some of his sense of humor from Yoda.

When she gets to the last bookshelf, she hears a voice behind her. “I’ll take over.” She turns around to see Ben holding out his hand for the cloth.

A variety of sarcastic responses occur to her, but she says simply, “Thanks,” and hands him the rag.

Finn has just finished the dishes and Poe tosses the final dustpan’s worth of dust out the back door, so they join Rey. They find Luke in the bathroom, tightening something under the bathroom sink. When he hears them come in, he pokes his head out. “Looks like all of the plumbing is still in pretty good shape, thank goodness. We’re almost out of toilet paper, though. That _leafs_ us with a few options we _moss_ choose between.”

Finn steels himself. “All right. What can I do?” he asks, turning toward the door.

Rey steps in front of Finn to prevent him from leaving. “My dad’s just being my dad. Poe and I saw a bunch of toilet paper in the closet.” Of all the things he could have made puns about, why did her dad have to choose using the bathroom?

“Anything else we can help with?” Poe asks.

“Once I finish in here, we should be all set,” Luke says.

Poe, Finn, and Rey head back into the main room, where they find Ben leaning against a half-dusted bookshelf, reading a Calvin and Hobbes book.

Poe scoffs. “Checking the inside of the book for dust?”

Ben puts the book back on the shelf and scowls at Poe. “Everything’s just going to get dusty again.” He looks at Rey. “I don’t see the point of cleaning this place up every few years, just so that you can keep coming back and cleaning it again. I mean, if you’re not going to live here, why bother?”

Rey thinks it over. “My dad has a lot of happy memories of this place.”

“Happy memories,” Ben says slowly.

“Yeah, happy memories,” says Poe. “I suppose that’s not something ‘Kylo Ren’ is familiar with.”

Ben stands up straighter, glaring at Poe. Despite his lanky frame, he is the tallest of the four of them.

Finn glances nervously from Poe to Ben. “Guys…”

Luke emerges from the bathroom. “All done!” He takes in the tense situation at a glance. “Wow, we just got here, and you already have cabin fever. Come on, let’s go for a hike while it’s still light out. I think a walk out in nature would do us all some good.”

“I think that’s a good idea!” Finn says with relief. Poe and Ben glare daggers at each other as they  head for the door.

Rey feels better once she is outside. The fresh air, the breeze, and the gentle sound of rustling leaves calm her nerves. She takes a deep breath and holds it in her lungs for several seconds before releasing it. Feeling the tension leave her body makes her aware of how tense she had gotten.

Finn and Poe walk in the front, choosing the path between trees and bushes. Rey follows behind them, thinking. Her dad follows a short distance behind them, taking his time, while Ben trudges along, last in line. Perhaps he figures that, when they turn around, he’ll be the closest to the cabin, so he’ll have the shortest distance to go back.

Rey can hear pieces of Poe and Finn’s conversation. Finn is telling Poe about the past school year. Though she can’t make out everything he is saying, she can tell from his tone of voice and the way he is gesturing that he is describing a teacher he found funny. Poe smiles as he watches Finn get into the story.

Something rustles a bush nearby, drawing Rey’s attention. A squirrel emerges from the bush and scrabbles up a tree. It pauses to glance at Rey, twitching its nose at her. Rey takes a step toward it, and it turns and scampers higher with a flick of its tail.

With a final glance up at the squirrel, Rey turns back to the path. Poe and Finn have paused to wait for her, and she hurries to catch up.

“Finn was just telling me…”

Rey walks with Finn and Poe, talking, laughing, enjoying their company and the beautiful surroundings. Something weighs on her mind, and with each step, it feels like a storm cloud is following her. She casts an uneasy look over her shoulder. Her father is following out of earshot, his eyes roaming the forest. Behind him, almost out of view, is the storm cloud, in the form of her cousin. Rey frowns, then turns back to the funny story Poe is telling about his driver’s ed class. As much as Rey is enjoying the moment, she knows that things will change when they return to the cabin with Ben. She considers talking to Finn and Poe about it, but they are having such a great time, with Ben far from their thoughts, that Rey can’t bring herself to say something.

The sky begins to redden in the west as the sun sinks toward the horizon, and Rey feels a fresh chill in air. Luke jogs to catch up with them and says, “Well, that was quite a walk, but I think we should turn back. We’ll want to get the tent set up before it gets dark.”

As they head back, Rey can’t even see Ben. She wonders if he turned back on his own, but after a little while she spots him up ahead. He is sitting on a fallen tree, slouching and staring morosely in their direction. When they start to get near, he stands up and starts walking toward the cabin.

Perhaps Ben is walking faster now that they are returning to the cabin, or perhaps Finn and Poe are walking more slowly because they they are not in a hurry to catch up to Ben. Either way, Ben remains in the lead until they reach the cabin.

“That’s quite a sunset,” Rey says, her eyes to the west. The trees glow as the sun paints the sky in shades of orange, violet, and crimson.

Finn pauses next to Rey to admire the sky. “It’s nice to stop and appreciate these things,” he says, his voice quiet.

Luke goes into the cabin and emerges with the tent in a bag. “Just don’t appreciate them too long, or it’ll be dark before we finish setting up the tent! I’m an old man, so I’ll be sleeping on the bed inside, but you kids should have the opportunity to get the true camping experience.” Rey is glad he didn’t try to make an “in-tents” pun.

They unpack the parts of the tent and lay them out on a level patch of grass. “Where are the instructions?” Poe asks, looking in the bag to see if they missed them.

“This tent belonged to my grandfather,” sniffs Ben. “He didn’t need instructions. He said I could have it when he moved to Hawaii.”

Luke adds, “Also, my parents bought a much nicer tent when they got there.”

Poe raises his eyebrows at Ben. “Oh, so it’s your tent now? Does that mean that you’re going to be charging us Kylo _Rent_?”

“Show some respect,” Ben fumes. “You should be honored to stay in the tent my grandfather once owned!”

“All right, all right,” says Poe, raising his hands to placate Ben. “Let’s just figure out what goes where.”

Luke has hazy memories of setting up a tent, Rey thinks she can figure out how things should go, Poe thinks it’s worth trying different things to see what works, and Ben is convinced he’s the only one with any idea of how to do anything.

As the sun starts to sink below the horizon, they have two out of four tentpoles up, but everything is wobbling on the verge of collapse. Luke goes inside for some flashlights while Poe and Ben start putting in the tent stakes two different ways, studiously ignoring each other.

Rey notices that Finn is watching them carefully. He looks like he is about to say something, then thinks better of it. Rey drops the tent pole she had been wrestling, causing the tent to slowly sag down onto Ben. “What is it, Finn?” Rey asks.

“Well,” says Finn quietly, as Ben struggles free of the tent, “I’ve never actually put up a tent, but my parents thought that it might be helpful if I knew how. They want me to be prepared for all sorts of disaster scenarios.”

“Do you have any suggestions?” Rey asks, nodding to encourage him.

Finn hesitates, looking at the others.

Luke steps over. “If you do, I’m sure we’d be happy to hear them.”

Poe comes over and points a thumb at the wreck of the tent. “We can’t be doing any worse than we already are.”

“I’ve almost got it,” announces Ben, but when Finn steps forward to get started, even Ben sighs, drops the pole he was holding, and steps aside.

Finn’s advice is hesitant and quiet, but the others follow his lead, and soon the tent starts to take shape. Along the way, Luke remembers a few tips, Poe notices a way to adjust the tent stakes to make them stay up better, and even Ben makes himself useful by reaching tall spots on the tent to adjust the tent poles. When Luke discovers a tear in the tent, Rey hurries to the cabin to look around while Ben laments the damage to his grandfather’s precious tent. Rey scavenges a roll of duct tape from the closet and a trash bag from the kitchen, which she uses to mend the hole.

“Now that looks like a tent!” says Poe, stepping back when the tent is complete. He pats Finn on the back. “I’m glad you took charge. We have a place to sleep tonight!”

Luke says, “Looks tonight is going to be in-tents.” Rey rolls her eyes. It was too good to last.

“It doesn’t look too comfortable,” Ben says.

“You mean your grandfather’s tent isn’t good enough for you?” gasps Poe.

“I mean, we’ll be basically sleeping on the ground,” Ben grumbles.

“We brought bedrolls,” Finn points out. “That should help.”

“Great,” sighs Ben. “So we’ll be sleeping on thin strips of foam on the ground.”

“You could sleep on the couch,” Luke offers. “That’s where I slept when I stayed here with Yoda. It’s not so bad. If you lie on the lumps right, you almost forget they’re there.”

“I’ll sleep in the tent,” Ben says. “It will make me stronger.”

Poe shrugs. “Hey, you never know. It’s worth a shot.”

Ben eyes Poe, suspecting that Poe is making fun of him, but Poe’s face remains neutral. Ben opens his mouth to say something, when Rey’s stomach gives a loud gurgle.

“I can’t believe I’m letting my only child starve!” Luke exclaims. “Come on, let’s get a campfire going and cook us up some food.”

They clear out a spot for the campfire. Luckily, dry wood is easy to find, even in the dark. Ben starts trying to build a complicated, log cabin-type arrangement of sticks, but the others pile on sticks, dry leaves, and dead grass. Soon they have a serviceable, though not particularly aesthetic, campfire going.

Luke wraps some corn in aluminum foil and places it next to the fire. Next, he takes out a pocket knife, whittles some sticks to sharp points, and hands them to the kids. “Remember not to let the flames touch your food,” he says as he opens a package of hot dogs. Soon they all have hot dogs on sticks. Rey hopes fervently that her dad does not try to make a joke about weenies.

To her surprise, the Poe and Finn start chuckling as they wobble their hot dogs. Rey smiles. Finn lets out a snort-laugh and nearly drops his hot dog into the fire, prompting Poe to hit Finn’s stick with his own to try to knock the hot dog off. Finn jostles him back, and the two start bumping shoulders in their contest to knock the other person’s hot dog into the fire.

Luke warns them, “If it goes in the fire, you’re still eating it. I didn’t bring enough dogs to account for collateral damage.” Finn and Poe settle down, though they still exchange glances and grins.

Rey asks, “Ben, don’t you think yours is a little close to the fire?”

“I like it dark,” Ben says. A minute later, he looks mournfully at the charred, black shell around his hot dog as he deposits it into its bun. When he sees the look of concern on Rey’s face, he screws up his courage and takes a bite. He winces, but keeps chewing. Rey can hear the crunching.

Luke hands Ben his own hot dog. “Here,” he says, then takes Ben’s hot dog. He uses his pocket knife to clean off the blackened parts as much as he can, before eating it without a word of complaint. Ben watches him, and though it’s hard to tell from the dim light, he looks thoughtful. Rey hopes that maybe this gesture of kindness got through to her cousin.

Everyone spears a second hot dog, and this time Ben keeps his further from the flames. The wood has become proper embers now, allowing them to prop their sticks up so that the hot dogs hover over the hot parts. While they wait, they carefully unwrap the corn and eat it.

“Why is it that food tastes better when eaten at a campfire?” Finn muses.

“The darkness brings out the true nature of the food,” Ben says. “As it does everything else.”

Finn shrugs. “Whatever it is, this corn is delicious.”

When they have eaten the corn, they eat their second hot dogs as well. Rey scoots closer to the remains of the fire to keep warm, and the others move closer, too. It feels cozy, looking around the faces of her family and friends, seeing the way their faces brighten and dim as the embers smolder. She can’t help but yawn as she chews the last bite. She hopes the light is dim enough that the others didn’t see the half-eaten food in her mouth.

Finn nods sleepily, his eyes lidded with fatigue. Poe stretches, then lies down horizontally next to the fire, propped up on an elbow. Ben tries to sit up straight and look awake, but a big yawn breaks through the facade.

“Looks like it’s getting close to time to turn in,” says Luke.

“Yeah, I’m pooped,” Finn says, and the others nod in agreement.

“That’s a shame, because I guess it means we won’t be making s’mores.” Luke reveals a box of graham crackers, a bag of marshmallows, and several chocolate bars.

Finn sits up, suddenly less tired. “Well, I think maybe a couple!”

“Sounds like a plan!” says Rey with a smile.

They start toasting marshmallows.  
“Does anyone know some good scary stories?” Poe asks.

“Of course,” says Ben. “But it’s getting late, and I don’t want to give you nightmares.”

Finn’s eyes go wide in the dark as he gives Rey a worried look. “What do you think?”

“I think we can handle it,” says Rey, with what she hopes is a confident chuckle. Poe nods, approving.

Ben leans toward the fire so that it casts a strange light on his face. “Once there was a boy, and he lived all alone in a huge, ancient house. The boy was lonely, so lonely that he began to pretend that there was another boy who lived in the same house. The little boy imagined that the other boy played with his toys in one room while he was in another room. As time went on, the little boy started to wonder if perhaps the other little boy thought of the toys as his. Maybe the other boy did not like him playing with the toys. Maybe the other boy was the one who was pretending that the little boy was real.”

Rey glances behind her. Perhaps it is the embers dying down, but the air seems chillier. Luckily, her marshmallow is done, so she makes a s’more and feels better.

Ben continues. “The little boy played with his toys less and less, for fear of upsetting the other boy. He crept around the house as quietly as he could. Then one day, the little boy heard the other boy coming, entering the room he was in, so he ran, and ran, and kept running, for he knew what would happen when the other boy caught him…”

Suddenly Ben jumps up, startling Rey and causing Finn to let out a shrill squeak and fall over. Rey’s heart is hammering in her chest, so she takes several calming breaths, as her dad has taught her to do when she is frightened.

Poe leans casually forward, “And? What happened next?”

Ben sits down, frowning across the embers at Poe, who smiles back at him. “That’s it. That’s the end of the story.”

“That was really creepy!” says Finn. He looks equally impressed, frightened, and excited. He glances around the group. “Who wants to go next?”

“Are you sure you want to hear another scary story?” Rey asks. “We’re going to be sleeping outside in a tent tonight, you know.” Part of her hopes that Finn declines, so that she does not have to hear another creepy story before bedtime.

Finn thinks about it. “I think I’ll be okay. Probably.” He looks at Poe. “Do you want to go next?”

Poe smiles and shakes his head. “Nah, that’s okay. I don’t want to freak you out.” As Finn is about to protest, Poe adds, “And I can’t really think of anything good right now.”

Finn looks at Rey, but she laughs and shakes her head. “I’m not good at this kind of thing!”

“I’ll tell one,” says Luke. Rey looks at him in surprise. She has never known him to tell horror stories before. “It’s about these very woods,” he continues, his voice becoming sinister. Rey shivers. Her dad is good with voices. “I have heard it said, that there have been sightings in this area of creatures that are described to be small… and furry… and, at first glance, almost teddy bear-like…”

Rey feels a sudden blush come over her. When she visited the cabin as a little girl, her dad made up stories for her about teddy bear creatures who lived in the woods. She braces herself for her dad to launch into the same cute stories he made up for her when she was small.

“But don’t be fooled!” Luke says. To Rey’s relief, he changes the script and describes how these seemingly cute creatures stalk intruders, using spears and slings to take them down before roasting them on a spit. He demonstrates their roasting method on a marshmallow that soon becomes a s’more. Finally, Luke stands up and shows them how the teddy creatures celebrate their victories by playing the skulls of their enemies like drums. By then, even Finn, who looked worried at first, is enjoying the story, and he laughs as Luke jumps around behind them, tapping each of their heads to the tune of his victory song.

Luke ends the story by sitting down, fixing them with a mock-serious look, and saying, “Sleep tight,” in a cartoonishly macabre voice. Ben smirks in appreciation, and Poe, Finn, and Rey laugh and applaud. Rey feels the tension of Ben’s story dissipate.

They put out the embers of the fire. As Finn reaches for his flashlight, Luke says, “Wait a moment.” He points up, though they can barely make out the gesture in the dark. “Look at that.”

They raise their eyes, and Rey gasps at the sight of countless stars spread out above them. She leans back on the grass, struck with awe at the spectacle stretches across the night sky.

Poe’s voice is hushed. “No lights out here to dim the stars,” he says.

For several minutes, they gaze upward at the heavens. Then, before she can stop it, Rey lets out a big yawn. Finn follows suit with an equally wide yawn, and the yawn continues around the group.

“All right, young’uns, time to get ready for bed,” Luke says, clicking on his flashlight. “Age before beauty. I’ll be quick.”

They take turns in the bathroom. When Rey has finished, she knocks on the bedroom door to say goodnight to her dad.

He tells her, “If any of you need anything, feel free to wake me up. And if it gets too cold out there, you can bring your sleeping bags and bedrolls inside.”

Rey grabs a flashlight and heads out to the tent. She unzips the front flap and climbs in. It smells a little stuffy, but she is so sleepy that it does not bother her. The four sleeping bags lie side by side on foam sleeping rolls on the tent floor.

She wonders if the others will want to stay up and talk, but they are as tired as she is. Ben claims the spot by the right side of the tent, so Rey takes the bag that is next to his, knowing that Finn and Poe will not want to sleep by him. Finn sleeps on Rey’s other side, and Poe sleeps beside him. When they click off their flashlights, it seems suddenly very dark in the tent.

The zipper on Ben’s sleeping bag gets stuck, and he struggles with it for a few minutes before Rey helps him zip it up. When he tests to see if he can zip it back down, it turns out to be stuck again.

“Go to sleep,” Rey mumbles sleepily. “Just go to sleep.”

Poe adds, “Plus, this way you can’t murder us all in our sleep.” He says it so matter-of-factly that Rey can’t help but chuckle.

As she drifts off to sleep, Rey listens to the soothing sounds of birds and insects in the dark.

It turns out that Ben twitches in his sleep, but other than that, Rey passes a restful night. When she awakes, she can see the morning light through the fabric of the tent, and the night sounds have been replaced by birds singing to greet the dawn.

Rey snoozes in bed for a bit, listening to the birds. The quiet scene is ruined when Ben wakes up, forgets where he is, and starts struggling to get up. His zipper is still stuck, so he ends up thrashing around. Rey rolls over to get away from him, accidentally rolling onto Finn. Finn exclaims in alarm and sits up, startling Poe.

It takes Rey a few moments to calm everyone down and free Ben from his sleeping bag. By then, everyone is wide awake, so they climb out of the tent. Pale, thin steam rises from the fabric as the sun warms it. They head toward the cabin to wash up and get ready for the day

When Rey emerges from the bathroom, her dad is in the kitchen, unzipping a backpack and removing foil-wrapped packages. “Good morning!” he calls when he sees her. “Guess what’s for breakfast? Granola bars!” He tosses her one. “Only the best for my little girl and her friends!”

Poe comes over. “Cool!”

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Rey warns him. “My dad only buys the healthiest granola bars.” She unwraps her bar and takes a bite. As she expected, it is hard and tastes like she imagines bark must taste.

“I also brought juice,” Luke says, opening a bottle.

Rey tries leaving a granola bar in a cup of juice to let it soften, which sort of works. Ben, Poe, and Finn crunch through a few granola bars each while drinking cups of juice.

When they have eaten, Luke gets out a loaf of whole wheat bread and a jar of peanut butter. “There’s a cave a few miles from here, and the hike there is really lovely. If we make some sandwiches now, we can eat lunch when we get to the cave!”

Somehow, Poe manages to spread peanut butter perfectly evenly on his bread, forming a layer so smooth that it almost shimmers. Finn watches reverently while Poe lowers the top slice of bread onto the sandwich. “How are you going to eat something so perfect?”

Poe shrugs one shoulder. “It’s still food.”

Finn’s sandwiches end up looking a lot more like Rey’s: smeared, lumpy, and uneven, but all the more edible for it. “High five!” Finn offers, and Rey slaps his hand.

Ben presses too hard with the knife when spreading the peanut butter, and as a result he tears up the bread. Luke eyes the ruin and chooses his words carefully. “Are you going to be all right with eating those?” he asks.

“Doesn’t matter,” says Ben. He shoves the wads of peanut butter-covered bread into some sandwich bags and gives Poe a tight smile. “It’s still food.” Poe blinks in surprise, and Rey finds herself smiling.

Luke makes his sandwiches out of the leftover bread. He has to use the ends of the loaf, but he doesn’t seem to mind.

“Everyone fill a water bottle,” says Luke, producing five water bottles of differing sizes and colors. Ben instantly grabs the only black one, and the others pick from the others. Rey selects a green one with a National Parks logo. They take turns filling their water bottles at the kitchen sink. Luke puts the sandwich bags into the backpack that had previously held the granola bars.

“I can take that,” Rey offers, and her dad hands her the backpack. He slings a camera bag over his shoulder, hoping to take pictures along the way.

“I hope I can find the cave again after all this time,” Luke says as they leave. “It’s been a while, and all these trees start to look pretty similar after a while.”

“I’m sure we’ll be able to find it,” says Rey. “If your memory is rusty, we can always ask technology.” She takes her cellphone out of her pocket and holds it up.

Luke scoffs at the phone. “Come on, I thought we were supposed to be camping out in the wilderness! I left my cellphone in the car.”

Rey lifts her eyebrows. “This coming from the man who slept inside on a bed while we were outside in the tent?”

Luke pretends he didn’t hear the question and looks at the others. “You didn’t bring your phones, did you?”

They exchange glances, then produce their phones from their pockets. Luke throws up his hands mock-dramatically and sighs. “You kids these days!”

“If it makes you feel better,” Poe says, “my signal’s been pretty spotty out here.”

Luke thinks about it. “Yes, that does help. Thank you, Poe.”

Rey breathes deeply as she walks, enjoying the crisp feel of the air. A pleasant breeze ruffles her hair and keeps the day from getting too warm. Striped clouds cover the sky, showing blue sky between them.

“Keep an eye out for squirrels,” she tells Poe and Finn. “I saw one yesterday, and I’d like my dad to take a picture of one!”

“I’ll keep my eyes peeled,” Finn promises.

“I always thought squirrels were kinda creepy,” says Poe. He’s smiling, so Rey can’t tell if he’s serious.

Finn nudges him. “No way!”

“With their beady little eyes,” Poe continues, “And their nasty little hands.”

“Well, I think they’re cute,” says Rey.

Finn nods. “Me, too.”

Ben is walking a couple of years behind them, but he speaks up with his opinion. “I agree with Poe. I don’t trust squirrels. They’re too twitchy.”

“Is it too late to change my mind?” Poe laughs. “If ‘Kylo Ren’ doesn’t like squirrels, then maybe they’re not so bad!”

Ben scowls and slows down, allowing himself to fall behind. Even then, Luke is still often the furthest back, as he stops to take pictures of things. Everything delights him: a mushroom on a log, a spiderweb on a bush, and an interesting knot in a tree all receive photo sessions.

When Luke almost drops out of sight while taking pictures of a tiny snake, Rey hurries back to him. “Come on, you’re going to be left behind.”

“Thanks for checking on me! You go on ahead, I’ll catch up.”

“How are we going to find the cave?” Rey asks.

“Just keep going and I think you’ll see it. I’m pretty sure we’re going in the right direction.”

“Pretty sure?”

Her dad smiles, unconcerned. “It’s a nice day. If we don’t find the cave, at least we’ll have had a nice walk!”

“Well, okay.”

Rey hurries to catch back up with Poe and Finn. As she passes Ben, he asks her, “What’s your dad doing back there?”

“Taking pictures of a snake.”

Ben’s voice cracks with sudden excitement. “No way! A snake?”

Rey smiles to see her cousin so interested. “Yeah, it’s really tiny and cute.”

“Oh.” Ben’s excitement disappears as quickly as it appeared. “Okay.”

“Well, maybe if you’ll see a bigger one,” Rey says.

Ben shrugs. “Well, maybe.”

“We can look in the tall grass,” says Rey, hoping the Pokemon reference will remind him that they share an interest. She gets a halfhearted smile in return, which is better than nothing.

When Rey catches up to Poe and Finn, she asks, “Seen any squirrels yet?”

“Not yet,” says Poe.

Finn adds, “We’ve heard some animals up in the branches, but those may have just been birds.”

“Well, thanks for looking, guys.”

They continue walking, chatting about whatever is on their minds. Their conversation is interrupted when Ben calls from behind, “Hey, what’s that up there?”

Rey looks where he is pointing. There are several trees growing on what looks like a hill. “You mean those trees?”

“Wow, trees,” says Poe, frowning. “Great. I’m glad you’re here, Ben, because I’ve been hoping we’d see some trees in this _forest_.”

“It looks like the top of a ridge to me,” says Ben. “I’m going to check it out.”

Rey follows him. “Do you think the cave might be over there?”

It takes Ben a few moments to reply, but eventually he says, “I dunno. Maybe, I guess. It’s worth looking.”

They climb up to the trees, and sure enough, the ground drops off on the other side. “Do you see a cave?” Rey asks.

“Not from up here, but I’m going to climb down to get a better look.” Ben takes hold of a branch and starts making his way down. He makes it partway before he runs out of handholds on the steep ridge.

Rey crouches, holds onto a root with one hand, and reaches down with her other hand. “Here.” Ben takes her hand and she lowers him further.

“Okay, I’m almost at the bottom. Let go, I’ll fall the rest of the way.” Rey lets go of Ben’s hand and he thuds to the ground. “Oof!”

“Are you okay?” Rey peers over to see him pick himself up and brush some leaves and grass from his jeans.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Hey, I think this might be it. There’s a bunch of bushes growing over it, but it looks like this could be the cave entrance.”

“Hang on, don’t go in yet. Do you see a way I could get down?”

Ben glances around. “Yeah, over here,” he says, pointing. “There’s some roots I bet you could use to hold onto.”

Rey pushes through the bushes and branches to the spot Ben indicated. A tree on the very edge of the ridge has its roots half-exposed. “I’m gonna throw my bag down to you. Are you ready?” Ben gives her a thumbs-up and she tosses the bag down. He catches it a little awkwardly, with a strap hitting him across the face, causing him to scowl and swear. Rey grimaces but does not say anything.

She carefully starts to climb down. Ben watches her, occasionally suggesting a handhold or a place to put her feet. At first, Rey feels for each one carefully, easing her weight onto it in case Ben is trying to trick her. After the first few turn out to be solid, she decides to trust him enough to move more quickly. When she finally reaches the bottom, she takes the backpack full of sandwiches back from Ben. She tries to keep it from showing on her face, but she wonders if Ben is being so cooperative because none of the others are there to see it.

As he said, there is a sunken spot in the ridge that might be the cave entrance. It is overgrown with bushes, with exposed roots half-covering it from above and dead leaves piled up below.

“Let’s see if this is it,” Rey says, and Ben nods. She holds aside the bushes and her cousin climbs through, shoving handfuls of old, mulchy leaves out of the way. Rey follows. They have to crouch, and Ben hits his head on the rocky ceiling, swearing again. After a couple of yards the dirt underfoot gives way to stone. The sunlight does not reach very far into the hole, though it looks like it goes deeper.

“Do you have flashlights in the backpack?” Ben asks. His voice is hushed, but he also sounds breathless with excitement.

“Yeah, but we should go get the others first.”

He turns to look at her, and his expression is hard to read in the darkness. “Well, all right.”

They turn back and make their way out of the cave into the sunlight. It looks suddenly bright, and the birds seem louder than they did before. Ben has dirt in his hair and covering his clothes, and Rey is sure that she is just as dirty. She pats it off herself and shakes it out of her hair as best she can. Ben brushes a bit off the front of his shirt and shoulders.

“Oh, come here,” says Rey. She clears the dirt off his back as best she can. “Close your eyes,” she says, and she ruffles his hair to get the dirt out of it.

“Thanks,” he mutters.

“Come on, let’s go find the others.”

They go along the bottom of the ridge to where it levels out, and then they circle back around toward Poe and Finn. Finn waves when he catches sight of them, so Poe notices and waves too. Ben gives a halfhearted wave while Rey motions for them to come over.

Finn almost sprints over in his excitement, while Poe saunters along behind him. “Did you find it?” Finn asks breathlessly. “The cave, I mean.”

“I know what you mean,” says Ben. “Yeah, we found it.” He shrugs like it’s no big deal. “It’s pretty cool, I guess.”

“We didn’t go very far yet,” says Rey.

“Come on, let’s check it out!” says Finn.

Ben and Rey show Finn and Poe the way to the cave. “It doesn’t look like much from the outside,” says Poe, peering in.

Rey gets out the flashlights and hands them out. “Come on, let’s see what’s inside!”

She leads the way, with Ben behind her. “Watch your head,” she hears him say as they pass the spot where he hit his head.

The passage leads down, turning slightly in one direction and then another. The air is cooler under the ground, and the people behind her cast weird shadows on the wall ahead of her. They pass roots hanging down from the ceiling, and Rey can’t help but think how much this looks like something from a movie. She can feel her heart beating with excitement.

“This is so cool,” says Finn. His voice sounds changed in the enclosed space. “How deep do you think it goes?”

As if in answer to his question, the cave opens out into a wider chamber. All four of them enter it, looking around. “I don’t see any further passages,” Rey says. “I think this is it.”

Finn plays his flashlight beam all over the room “This place is huge! It’s almost as big as your aunt and uncle’s living room. The ceiling’s a bit lower, of course.”

Rey smiles. “Not quite as cozy, either.”

Ben kneels in the center of the chamber, closes his eyes, and bows his head. “Something about this place… reminds me of my grandfather.”

Poe gives a short laugh. “Is your grandfather cold, dirty, and creepy?”

Ben’s eyes snap open. “What did you say?” His voice is low with menace.

Perhaps it is the ominous environment, but Poe actually looks taken aback.

Finn looks from one to the other, then says in a quiet voice, “Are you guys hungry? I’m kinda hungry.”

“Good idea! Let’s eat,” says Rey, giving Finn a look of gratitude. She takes out her water bottle and pours a little water over the others’ hands, allowing them to rinse off some of the dirt. Finn pours some of his water over Rey’s hands, and then she passes out the sandwiches.

They arrange the flashlights so that as much of the chamber is lit as possible, and then sit in a circle, eating and drinking.

“I wonder what’s keeping your dad?” asks Poe.

“He knows where this cave is,” says Rey. “Probably. If he doesn’t show up soon, we can go look for him.”

Finn’s eyebrows draw together with concern. “Okay. I hope he didn’t get lost.”

“I’m sure he’s fine,” says Ben. “Coming here was his idea, after all.”

“I’m glad we came!” says Finn. “This place is great.”

“It’s a shame it doesn’t go deeper,” says Ben. He squeezes a lump of his poorly-made sandwich from the sandwich bag directly into his mouth and continues with his mouth full. “It would be interesting to explore deep under the ground. I wonder what secrets lurk down there in the dark?”

Poe says, “It’s hard to understand you with all the--” he gestures to his mouth, “--peanut butter.”

Ben turns his back on Poe, moves to the deepest part of the cave, and sits with his back to the cave wall, eating his sandwich in the half-darkness and glaring.

When they have finished their sandwiches, Ben spots some more in the backpack. “Toss me another one of those sandwiches,” he says.

“Those are my dad’s,” says Rey.

“Well, he’s not here, so he doesn’t get them,” says Ben. Rey shivers. His voice makes the cold air in the cave feel even colder.

Rey zips up the backpack and puts it on. “I’m going to go look for him.”

“We’ll help!” says Finn.

They crawl out of the cave. It’s a frustrating crawl, because the cramped passage forces Rey to go slowly, and she is starting to worry. When she emerges from the cave, the forest around them looks serene and lovely, but Rey feels her heart drop because there is no sign of her dad anywhere.

Poe is the last one out of the cave. “You know, once ‘Kylo Ren’ was out of the cave, it was actually surprisingly pleasant in there.”

“All right, let’s split up and look for my uncle,” Ben says, and he begins to stride off.

“Wait!” says Rey. Ben pauses, turning and scowling. Rey says quickly, “We can’t just all go off in different directions without a plan. What’s to stop us from getting lost, too?”

“I have an idea,” says Finn. He takes out his cell phone. “My reception isn’t great out here, but at least we can stay in touch.”

“My reception sucks, too,” says Poe, frowning at his phone. “We’d better stick to sending texts when we have a signal. That way, if someone doesn’t have a signal, they’ll get the text when they do.”

Rey nods. “Do you all have each other’s numbers?” Finn and Poe both give Ben an awkward look. “Okay, I’ll text you guys each other’s numbers,” says Rey, starting to type on her phone. Ben starts to say something, but Rey cuts him off. “Don’t worry, they’re not going to prank call you.” She gives Poe a sharp look. “Right?”

“Sure, right,” says Poe, adding Ben’s number to his phone. “How many apostrophes are there in ‘Kylo Ren’?”

“None,” Ben mutters darkly.

Poe sighs. “What’s the point in having a made-up fantasy name for yourself if it doesn’t even have apostrophes?”

Ben checks his phone and confirms that he has Poe’s and Finn’s numbers. “Now that we all have each other’s numbers, can we go now?”

“Yeah,” says Rey. “Please check in if there’s any sign of my dad!” Ben doesn’t need any more encouragement. He stalks off without a backward glance.

Poe turns to go in the opposite direction. “Well, if he went that way, I’m going this way.” He walks off.

“Good luck, Rey!” says Finn. Then, before he leaves, he pats her arm. “Don’t worry. We’ll find your dad.”

“I hope we find him soon,” Rey replies. “I’m sure he’s getting hungry.”

Finn gives Rey another reassuring pat on the arm and heads off in the direction they originally came from. Rey turns and starts to walk, too, scanning ahead for any sign of Luke. As she walks, she can’t shake a thought. She tries to hurry and keep an eye out, but something is weighing on her mind. Finally, with a sigh, she takes out her phone and types out a text to Poe: “Wait plz? We shld talk.” She stops, deletes the text, and types instead, “Wait please? We should talk.” Hoping that looks more grown-up, she sends it.

She stands looking at her phone and waiting for a reply. If he doesn’t have reception, it may take a while, and Rey can feel her hands sweating and her heart beating harder with each passing moment. Luckily, Poe’s reply comes quickly: “K, I’ll wait here.”

Rey hurries off in the direction Poe went. After a few minutes, she catches sight of him. He waits for her to reach him, a curious look on his face. “What’s up?” he asks.

Rey doesn’t quite know how to say it. “I wanted to talk about Ben.”

Poe snorts. “Yeah, he’s a piece of work.”

Rey starts to agree automatically, then stops herself. With an effort, she says, “I can’t believe I’m saying this.” Poe looks confused, so Rey tries to find the right words. “Do you think you could take it easier on him?”

Poe’s eyes widen. “Are you serious? He’s such a jerk! And all that ‘Kylo Ren’ stuff. It’s just creepy.”

Rey can’t look at Poe’s face as he gives her an incredulous look. How can she make him understand? More importantly, is there a way to say what she’s thinking without making him think she’s being childish? “Yeah, can be kind of creepy,” Rey admits, “and yeah, he’s a bit of a jerk, but you don’t need to give him an excuse to be even more of a jerk. If we’re spending time with him anyway, why make it worse?” She exhales and risks a look at Poe. His face is hard to read, but she thinks he looks thoughtful. “Does that make sense?”

Poe is silent a long time, and Rey starts to wish he would just say something. She longs to say “Never mind” and flee back the way she had come, but she forces herself to stay.

Finally, he looks her right in the eyes and gives a small, warm smile. “You’re really wise for your age, you know that?”

“Thanks,” she says, with a big, relieved, probably goofy smile.

“You’re right. I’ll try to cut Ben some slack.” He laughs. “I can’t guarantee I’ll always be able to stop every sarcastic comment, though.”

Rey laughs as she feels herself relax. “Deal.”

“Deal!” They shake on it.

“We’d better get back to looking,” says Rey. “And I really appreciate… well, everything.”

“Don’t mention it! Now let’s find your dad.”

Such a weight has been lifted from Rey that she can’t help but run as she returns to the cave, then turns and keeps looking for her dad.

For the first few minutes, Rey walks quickly, glancing from side to side to see where her dad could be. When she slows down to catch her breath, she feels her phone buzz. Finn’s text says that he hasn’t found anything yet, and soon Poe and Ben reply that they haven’t, either. Rey pauses long enough to thank them for checking in and to let them know that she hasn’t found her dad.

It is a lovely warm day, and Rey wishes she could enjoy the stroll through the tall trees. Instead, she is too worried about finding her dad. Why did he have to get lost? Despite her concern, she starts to feel frustration creeping in. With each step, she gets farther from the cabin. In order for her dad to have come that way, he must have passed by the cave without noticing it. She reminds herself that they almost missed the cave, too, and so it’s entirely possible that her dad might have.

Her phone buzzes again, and when she checks it, she notices that half an hour has passed. How far has she walked? Would her dad have come this far? But nobody has found her dad yet, so she has to keep going.

She keeps going, wondering what will happen if they don’t find her dad. Should they contact Search and Rescue? How does someone get the number for Search and Rescue, anyway?

Another half hour passes. She drinks some water from her water bottle before checking in with her friends. Nothing yet. What if they have gone past her dad? There are only four of them searching, so there is only so much room they can cover.

Finn’s text is longer than the others. He tells them that he has reached the cabin, and there is no sign that Luke ever returned. He’s not sure what to do next, so Rey advises him to wait there in case her dad comes back.

The sun is lower in the sky already. Desperation drives Rey to pick up her pace. She is sweaty, her feet hurt, and there is a stitch in her side, and as she keeps going, she can feel tears pricking her eyes. She wipes at them.

What if her dad is hurt? He might have tripped on a tree root or stepped in a hidden hole and twisted his ankle. She keeps going, putting the thought out of her mind, but another thought accompanies it: why did her dad have to go and get lost, anyway? Rey would bet these things didn’t happen to other people’s dads on camping trips. They could all be on a nice hike or hanging out in the cave right now.

What must Poe and Finn think? Her stomach squirms with embarrassment. She’s sure they didn’t have searching for her dad in mind when they came on this trip. For just a brief moment, she almost wishes that her dad is hurt and not just lost, to justify all this trouble. She is instantly sorry, as images of what might have happened start going through her head. What if a bear attacked him? What if a tree fell on him? What if a band of criminals were hiding out in the forest, and he stumbled across their hiding place? What if that little snake he was looking at bit him, and turned out to be venomous? He could be lying in a ditch in agony, all swollen and purple. She hopes she’s the one to find him if that’s the case, since she wouldn’t want the others to see him like that and be grossed out.

At first she almost can’t believe her eyes when she spots someone walking away from her in the distance. Who else could it be but her dad? And besides, she recognizes that hideous blue sweater. She laughs, then gives a half-hiccup, half-sob. “FOUND HIM!” she texts, then breaks into a run.

He stops when he hears her crashing through the forest toward him. He half-turns, a weary, embarrassed look on his face. When she reaches him, she stops. She wants to hug him, or to yell at him, or just to break down in tears. Instead, she takes off the backpack, unzips it, and reaches inside.

Wordlessly, she holds a peanut butter sandwich out to her father.

As her dad eats the sandwich, Rey texts the others and tells them to meet up at the cabin. When her dad has finished eating, they start walking back, but not before Rey has given him a big hug, squeezing him like she is trying to keep him from wandering off again.

Luke tells his daughter about how he had wondered if he had gone past the cave, but he had convinced himself that it just felt like a longer trip because he was older, and he would see the cave at any moment. Rey makes sure to give him a hard time about it, but she can’t resist giving him another hug.

“I’m really sorry I made you worry like that, sweetheart,” he says into the top of her head. Then he adds, “I guess your friends must think your old man’s a total goob now, huh?”

Rey laughs, “Don’t worry about it. I think they already did.”

“No harm done, then!” Luke says, laughing in return.

Back at the cabin, Poe, Finn, and Ben are all relieved to see Luke again. Maybe part of their relief is that Poe and Finn don’t have to be alone with Ben any more. But at least Poe seems to have taken Rey’s words to heart, and he keeps his eye-rolling to a minimum around Ben.

The sun is starting to set, so they build a new campfire and make some beanie weenies. Rey doesn’t even care that Luke calls it beanie weenies. They ran out of chocolate the night before, so dessert is just marshmallows roasted over an open fire. Though the night is chilly, Rey feels warm, and the warmth does not just seem to come from the campfire. Looking at the faces lit by the glow of the fire, she can’t help but smile.

That night, Rey lies in the tent and listens to the sounds of the others shifting in their sleeping bags as they drift off to sleep. She snuggles down into her sleeping bag, sure there is nowhere she would rather be.

The next morning, they eat the leftover graham crackers for breakfast. As they take down the tent, Rey bids a farewell to the cabin.

Poe and Finn carry the sleeping bags to the car and Luke gets the car ready to go. Ben and Rey pack the tent into its bag.

Ben keeps his eyes on the bag, but he says, “This was… okay.”

“I’m glad,” Rey says. It sounds like Ben has more to say, so she waits.

“I don’t know if you said something to Poe, but if you did… well…”

Rey waits, but he doesn’t say anything else. They finish packing up the tent and Rey lifts the bag. “I’m glad you came, Kylo Ren,” she says, and she’s pretty sure she means it.

“About that,” he says quickly. Rey turns to look at him. He looks down, pressing his lips together. “Never mind,” he mumbles. “Come on, let’s go meet the others.” He hurries around the cabin.

Rey smiles and follows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I sort of conflated Dagobah and Endor, so I hope that wasn't too distracting!


	3. Beach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey hopes that a day at the beach will be the perfect way to end her summer, but Ben's First Order friends threaten to ruin everything....

In Rey’s mind, her trip to the beach truly begins the moment she takes off her shoes and socks and buries her feet in hot sand. The sand is hotter than she anticipated, and she has to jump from one foot to the other, yet she can’t help but grin.

Despite seeing how hot the sand is, Finn eagerly follows suit, and so the two of them jump around while Luke follows behind them. He has a beach umbrella under his arm, a bag slung over the opposite shoulder, and he is carrying the same blue-and-white cooler he brought to the barbeque.

It is a perfect day to spend at the beach, and clearly Rey, Finn, and Luke are not the only ones who recognize that. The beach is more packed than Rey had pictured it, and she can see that the water is dotted with swimmers and people playing in the waves. Despite feeling a little disappointed by the number of people, she still can’t wait to spend the day at the beach. Her imagination buzzes with thoughts of swimming, playing, and relaxing.

Rey is eager to have as much fun as possible today. She has been wanting to visit the beach all summer, but something always came up that prevented the trip. Now summer is nearly over, but they are finally here, and Rey is determined to make the most of it.

Rey and Finn race across the beach. They weave their way through the crowds of people lounging on towels and beach chairs, slowing down to avoid accidentally kicking sand on anyone. They only stop when they finally reach the water. A cool wave washes over their hot feet, soothing them instantly, and their feet are half-buried in moist sand as the wave draws back out to the ocean.

They stand for a moment, allowing the ocean to fill their peripheral vision, mesmerized by the steady approach and withdrawal of the waves. Small children play in the shallows, splashing about or building lumpy sandcastles. Older kids await the breaking waves, diving into each wave or jumping to float up and over the swell. Beyond the point where the waves break, teenagers toss frisbees and foam footballs to each other.

Finn wades deeper into the water, holding his shoes and socks clear. He is wearing gray swim trunks but he still has his t-shirt on, so he can only go hip-deep. Rey would like to follow him, but she is wearing her swimsuit under shorts and a shirt, and she doesn’t want to get those wet. “Come on,” she calls to Finn, “Let’s go find my aunt and uncle!”

“Okay!” says Finn, turning and splashing back to her. “I hope they got a good spot.” Han, Leia, and Ben had arrived earlier, to reserve a place on the beach.

Finn and Rey hurry up the beach, staying near the water where the sand is cooler and avoiding the sand castles and groups of playing kids.

Rey hears Leia’s voice calling, “Over here!” and she looks to see Leia standing and waving. They have a beach umbrella set up, several beach towels spread out on the sand, and a beach chair. Han relaxes on one of the towels, while Ben sits in the beach chair directly under the umbrella, playing his Nintendo DS. He is wearing bulky black board shorts, and has slathered his skin in sunblock so that he is in no danger of ruining his pasty pallor.

Rey and Finn walk up to them, and everyone exchanges greetings. Ben even looks up from his DS to say hi to Rey and mumble something to Finn, which Rey takes as a good sign.

“Where’s Luke?” Han asks.

“We’ll go get him!” Finn says, and he and Rey rush back across the sand. They spot Luke making his way along the edge of the crowd. Finn  waves to him, jumping up and down and shouting.  Rey notices people turning to stare in amusement or annoyance, but since Finn continues to wave and holler, she decides to join him.

Luke spots them and picks up his pace. Rey goes over to her dad and takes the cooler from him, and Finn follows and hefts the beach umbrella. They rejoin Han, Leia, and Ben. Han and Leia adjust their towels to make room. Ben’s contribution is to get off his chair, move it a foot to make room, and get back in the chair. Rey and Finn help Luke set things up.

Once everything is in place, Luke settles into the beach chair and takes out his paperback novel. “Well, I think I’m all set for the day,” he says. He glances at Finn and Rey. “How about you two? What will you be reading?”

Rey giggles. “Dad, we didn’t come to the beach to read!”

Luke gives a mock gasp. “What else is there to do?”

“Swimming, for one thing!” says Finn with a smile. He takes his shirt off and puts it into their bag to keep it from getting sandy.

Rey’s heart skids in her chest. Somewhere in her mind is the knowledge that she shouldn’t stare, but she’s too busy staring to do anything about it. She knows her friend has muscular arms, but suddenly there are a lot more muscles on display than she is used to.

Luckily, Finn doesn’t seem to notice. “Come on, Rey!” he says. “Hurry up, I want to go into the water!”

Rey starts to take her shirt off, but hesitates. Her two-piece swimsuit is not particularly revealing, and she is suddenly self-conscious, without knowing exactly why: either because her swimsuit does not reveal enough, or because there is not much to reveal.

Well, she didn’t come to the beach to stand around in shorts and a t-shirt. Taking a deep breath, she pulls off her shirt, then takes off her shorts. It’s a warm day, but she is pretty sure that the extra warmth on her face means she is blushing. She gives Finn a tentative look to see his reaction. His eyes are wide, and his mouth is half-open. Now she is definitely blushing.

When he sees her looking at him, Finn gives a big smile. “Wow, you look great! Have you been working out?”

Rey smiles shyly. “Yeah, a little.”

“Well, come on!” says Finn.

Finn turns, but before he can leave, Luke calls out, “Hold on a second!” He rummages in the bag and takes out a tube of sunscreen. “Put this on before you go.”

Rey and Finn pass the tube back and forth as they apply the sunscreen. Luke helps Rey put sunscreen on her back, and Leia is about to help Finn when she catches Rey’s eye. “Here,” she says, handing Rey the tube, “why don’t you help Finn with his back?”

Rey takes the tube as Finn steps over to her and turns around. Rey tries to tell herself that this is no big deal while also wondering whether she can get away with taking her time. She spreads the sunscreen on Finn’s back, trying to remain calm about how warm and firm his back feels. The sunscreen is a stark contrast to his skin, accentuating the lines of his muscles.

She is done all too soon. She takes a quick look around Finn’s back in case she missed anything, but she has to admit that she did a very thorough job. Luke takes the sunscreen back and starts applying it to his own arms and legs as Finn walks toward the water. Rey follows him, still trying to figure out what is going on in her mind when it comes to her friend Finn.

They reach the waves, and the cold water diverts Rey’s attention. What had felt so soothing earlier on her feet starts to feel chilly when she wades in past her knees, and she can feel the prickle of goosebumps forming on her arms. When a wave brushes the bottom of her swimsuit, the fabric instantly becomes cold and clammy. She shivers.

Finn wades out past her, taking long strides into the water. He turns when he sees her hesitate. “What’s the matter?”

Rey wraps her arms around herself. “It’s cold!”

“It’s not so bad if you do this!” Finn falls over backwards into the water, then emerges a moment later. Water streams off of him as he laughs and wipes water from his eyes. “Whoo! All right!” He turns and dives into an oncoming wave, swimming under it and emerging a couple of meters away. He waves to her.

Rey does her best to jump over the wave when it gets to her, to keep it from getting her swimsuit any wetter. Realizing that she is just putting off the inevitable, she steels herself, clenches her hands into fists, and waits for the next wave. When she sees it approaching, she strides out toward it, then dives underneath.

Instantly, the background babble of people talking, laughing, and shouting on the beach is replaced by the surge of water. She loses her footing as the mass of water rushes over her, and for a moment she is disoriented. She kicks out, righting herself, and then her feet find the sandy bottom and she pushes off. Her head emerges from the water, and she is surprised by how shallow the water still is. She shivers, her teeth chattering as her wet hair clings to her head.

Finn treads water while watching her. “How was that?”

Rey swims toward him, and the exertion helps warm her muscles. When she reaches him, she already feels better. “It’s not so bad!” she says.

“Come on, let’s swim a bit. It’ll warm you up.” He swims parallel to the beach and she follows him, observing his powerful motions in the water.

Rey makes sure not to swim too far out from the beach, and they carefully swim around groups of people who are playing in the water so that they do not interrupt any games in progress. This far out, the waves are not yet breaking, so the waves feel more like gentle swells in the ocean. Soon, Rey forgets that the water is cold.

“Let’s swim back a bit, so we stay near where our stuff is,” Rey calls to Finn.

“Okay,” he calls back. He dives down, turns underwater, and his head and shoulders emerge from the water coming back in her direction. As he passes her, she gets a good luck at the way the muscles on his back bunch and flex with each stroke, glistening as the water slides off of him. She follows after him, concentrating on her form to make sure that she keeps up.

When they reach the point where they started, they hear a voice calling out to them. They look to see Ben splashing toward them, holding an orange and white ball in the air. When the water gets deep enough, he starts swimming, holding the ball up in one hand.

“What’s up?” Finn asks. He sounds wary, but Rey can hear him making an effort to keep his tone light.

“Do you guys want to throw this around a bit?” Ben asks. He holds the ball out to them like some strange artifact whose purpose eludes him.

Finn looks at Rey, then at Ben. “Are you sure?”

Ben tries to shrug, but finds it hard to do while treading water. “Yeah. I guess.”

Rey gives a small smile. “Did your parents make you do this?”

“They took away my DS.” He smiles ruefully.

Rey laughs, and Finn, seeing her laughing, smiles, too.

They form a triangle and toss the ball. When that gets boring, they switch to playing keep-away, which inevitably turns into Finn and Rey throwing the ball back and forth while Ben swims between them trying to catch it. All things considered, Rey has to admit that her cousin is taking it rather well, so she decides to tell him so when they get tired and wade back to the beach.

“I’m glad you didn’t mind being ‘It’ for so long,” she says.

“Was it that long?” Ben asks. “I was just concentrating on getting the ball. I can get pretty single-minded about things like that. Grandfather says it’s a trait we share.”

“Well, as long as you’re having fun!” says Rey.

They reach the spot where Luke, Leia, and Han are waiting. Luke is still reading his book, while Han and Leia snooze on their beach towels, working on their tans. The kids flop down on empty spots on the towels, glad for a rest.

Rey feels the warmth of the sun spreading through her as the water drips and evaporates from her body. She rummages through the cooler and finds her water bottle, and she takes a drink.

Luke puts his bookmark into his book and lays it down. “Hey, while you were gone, we bumped into Poe. He went over that way, if you’d like to catch up to him,” he says, pointing.

“I’m going to rest up a bit first,” says Rey. Now that she’s out of the water, she’s surprised at how wiped out she feels.

“Good call,” Finn admits.

Rey relaxes in the warm sun, drinking water and letting her mind drift. At one point, she turns over to let her back get some sun, too. She knows she’s more likely to get freckly than tanned, but at least she should be uniformly freckly all over. As she lies on her stomach, she looks over at Finn and he quickly looks away. She considers what he might have been looking at that made him look away so guiltily, and allows herself a small smile.

After she has rested, she eats some healthy fruit snacks from the cooler, then nudges Finn. “Come on, let’s go see what Poe is up to.”

“Definitely!” says Finn. He casts a look at Ben, who is hanging halfway out of his beach chair, sound asleep.

“I think all that swimming wore him out,” says Rey. “Let’s let him rest.”

They go in the direction Luke had indicated earlier. Rey is the first to spot Poe out beyond the crowd, tossing a frisbee around with a girl his age. Rey points them out to Finn, and they walk up.

Poe notices them and catches the frisbee behind his back, then motions for his friend to come over. Poe is wearing orange swim trunks, and the salt from the ocean water has arranged his dark hair into glamorous curls. While he is not as muscular as Finn, his lean build glows with an amazing tan. Rey exchanges a look with Finn; clearly, he has noticed, too.

Poe says, “Hey guys, let me introduce you to Jess. Jess these are my friends Rey and Finn. Rey is my boss’s niece, and Finn is her friend from school. I spent last Christmas with Rey’s family. Guys, this is Jess. She goes to my school.”

Jess smiles and greets Finn and Rey, then says to Poe, “I remember you telling us about that. When the storm kept you from joining your folks, right?”

Rey finds her eyes lingering on Jess as Poe responds. Jess has thick, lustrous black hair that falls halfway down her back, and she is wearing a true bikini that makes Rey feel gangly and awkward in her boring two-piece swimsuit. Nevertheless, there is something approachable about Jess, and Rey finds herself smiling.

“Well?” says Poe. Rey breaks out of her trance to see them all looking at her, waiting for a reply.

Rey didn’t catch the question. All she can think to say is, “Huh?”

“Do you want to play frisbee with us?” asks Poe.

“Sure,” says Rey. Finn is giving her a curious look, and Rey blushes.

They separate to give them enough distance to throw the frisbee and start tossing it around. They don’t play with any particular rules, just throwing the frisbee from person to person. Rey makes an effort to throw the frisbee to everyone equally, though it’s hard to resist the temptation to always throw to Poe or Jess, since she sees Finn more often. When Finn makes a particularly athletic leap to catch the frisbee just before it hits the ground, she feels strangely guilty for not spending more of the game up to that point appreciating his catches, and she would not mind being able to see that leap in slow motion a few more times.

Rey pays attention to the way Poe and Jess interact, and though they are clearly comfortable with each other, she gets the impression that the two are just friends. Part of her wonders if this impression is influenced by her own wishful thinking.

The group keeps up a friendly banter as they play, and even a simple game of frisbee remains fun and engaging. Rey feels like she could watch Finn, Poe, and Jess play all day. Rey is not the best at frisbee, but nobody gives her a hard time about it, and they happily chase down any toss that goes off target.

This is how summer should feel, Rey decides. Summer may be nearly over, but she puts that out of her mind and resolves to live in these moments. She wants the game to go on forever, just the simple joy of running and catching and throwing, talking and laughing and seeing her friends having fun.

She loses track of time, so it feels like all too soon when the game comes to an abrupt halt. Poe catches the frisbee and looks at something over Rey’s shoulder, his face suddenly serious. “Heads up, people. We have First Order incoming.”

Everyone turns to see three figures approaching. Rey’s stomach goes cold despite the warm day to see her cousin leading the group. Ben walks with his head thrust forward and his hands in the pockets of his board shorts. The intense look on his face makes him look like a different person from the one Rey and Finn were playing in the waves with earlier. Next to him walks an imposing, statuesque girl who looks about Poe’s age. She has short blond hair and hard blue eyes, and she wears a shiny silver one-piece swimsuit. Behind Ben is a red-haired boy about his age, with pale skin and a pinched, bitter face.

“You’re seriously playing frisbee at the beach?” Ben gives a cold, flat laugh.

The tall girl draws back her lips in a half-smile, half-snarl. “It’s so wholesome I could just puke.”

Finn glances at them, then at the ground. “Oh, it’s you guys.”

Rey is momentarily caught off balance. She gapes at Finn. “You know them?”

Finn looks uncomfortable.“Well, they’re in the First Order, and my parents are in the First Order, so--”

“Your parents?” the red-haired boy scoffs. “Need I remind you, you’re part of the First Order as well?”

Finn’s face falls. “Rey, these are Phasma,” he indicates the blond girl, who barely inclines her head, “and Hux,” the boy gives a reptilian smile.

Phasma looks down her nose at Poe. “Why are you hanging out with these little kids? Couldn’t find someone your own age to play with?”

Hux sneers. “I’ll bet they all had to pitch on that frisbee in order to afford it.”

Poe meets his gaze coolly. “We’re here to have fun. Maybe you’ve heard of it?”

Phasma snorts. “Adorable. Nobody wins, nobody loses. Let me tell you what I consider fun: crushing someone in competition. The real way to have fun is to make sure that somebody else isn’t.”

Hux leans on Phasma’s muscular shoulder. “Anyone who is dumb enough to try to take on the First Order deserves what they get. The First Order is all about victory.”

Rey glances at her cousin. “Nice friends you have here, Ben.”

Ben squirms a little, frowning, but Hux chuckles. “What did she call you?”

“I told you,” her cousin says through gritted teeth. “It’s Kylo Ren.”

Rey does not know what she expected, but his cold tone saddens her. Well, if Ben is going to treat him like a stranger, she can do the same to him. She crosses her arms and looks away from him.

Poe steps up to Phasma. “So you only have fun when you’re beating up on other people?”

Phasma laughs. “You could say that.”

“And you’ll only challenge someone if you’re sure you can win?”

Phasma takes a step forward and narrows her eyes. “We’ll take on any challenger.”

“Then consider yourself challenged.” Poe says, pointing a finger in Phasma’s face.

“Hux?” says Phasma, turning to him.

Hux nods. “My folks have a summer home on the beach not far from here. There’s a volleyball net set up. We’ll see you there tonight at five?”

Poe glances back at his friends. Jess nods. Poe raises his eyebrows at Finn and Rey. Finn looks to Rey for her reaction. She chews her lip for a moment, unsure what to do, then nods. Finn immediately nods, too. “You’re on,” Poe says. “We’ll be there tonight at five.”

“Right,” says Ben. He turns and marches off, followed by the others.

Rey takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. She is starting to realize how much that exchange wound her up. Maybe this whole challenge was not the best idea. Poe notices her concern. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Rey says, taking another couple of breaths.

Finn walks up behind her and puts a hand on her shoulder. “I don’t know what Ben’s deal is,” he says.

Rey puts her hand over Finn’s and gives him a tight smile. She is not surprised that he knew what bothered her most about the exchange. “I just… sometimes I think that maybe he’s not so bad.” Finn gives her shoulder a squeeze and removes his hand.

Jess looks at her with sympathy, and maybe a little pity. “Those First Order kids are all like that.” Finn catches his breath, and Jess adds, “I don’t know how you turned out all right, Finn, but you should consider yourself lucky.”

“I guess,” says Finn. He looks dubious.

Poe puts an arm around Finn’s shoulders. “Hey, come on. We don’t think of you like those guys. I know you better than that.”

Jess grins. “You’re Poe’s friend, and that’s good enough for me. Besides, you played frisbee with us, so you can’t be all bad.”

“What do you mean?” Finn asks.

Jess’s grin widens. “Well, you didn’t try to crush us once!”

Finn laughs. “Thanks, guys.”

“Sounds like we’ve got a game tonight,” Jess says.

Poe smiles. “We’ll show those jerks that they can’t intimidate us.”

Jess points back to the beach. “I gotta go, but I’ll see you all at five!”

“You know it!” says Rey. Wait, did that make it sound like a date? Jess winks at her before turning and leaving. What did that wink mean?

“All right, let’s meet back up at five,” Poe says. “Until then, don’t worry too much about ‘Kylo Ren’ and his friends. That can wait until our ‘Kylo Rendezvous’ this evening!” He beams them both a smile before turning and walking off.

Rey and Finn make their way back toward the spot on the beach where Rey’s dad, aunt, and uncle are camped. When they arrive, Rey is actually relieved that Ben is not there. As soon as Luke sees her, he can immediately tell that something is bothering his daughter. “What’s wrong? What happened?” Leia and Han move closer, their faces concerned.

Rey tells them all about it, with Finn occasionally filling in details. When she has finished, she adds, “I just don’t get it. It was like he barely knew us.”

Luke shakes his head. “I think there’s a lot going on here,” he says with a sigh.

Leia looks around. Nearby, teenagers sunbathe, older people snooze or read, and children play in the sand. “I think we should talk about it. Have you kids been to the boardwalk yet? Come on, we can get some fries.” She kisses her husband on the cheek. “Could you keep an eye on things for a bit?”

“Sure, I’ll hold down the fort,” says Han. He looks Rey in the eyes. “Don’t let Ben ruin your good time, okay? If he’s going to make anyone miserable, it should be himself.”

Finn hesitates, and Leia beckons him, too. “Come on. You’re Ben’s friend, too, so I think you’re a part of this conversation.”

Finn and Rey dried off while playing frisbee, so they put their shirts back on, and Rey also puts on her shorts. They grab their shoes and follow Luke and Leia to the boardwalk.

Leia leads them to a fry stand, where they buy a bag of fries. Luke and Leia douse the fries in vinegar and sprinkle them liberally with salt before finding a table where the four of them can sit.

After they have each eaten several fries, Leia breaks the silence. “I know it’s not always easy being friends with my son.”

Finn replies, “I wouldn’t say we’re friends.”

“You don’t want to be his friend?” Leia asks, her voice gentle.

Finn studies a fry. “Well, I don’t think he considers me a friend.”

“Ben’s got his strengths,” Leia says, “but wisdom is not one of them. I don’t think he’s got a good idea of who his real friends are.”

“His friends seemed like real jerks,” Rey says. She frowns. She doesn’t want to hurt Leia, but she doesn’t know a better way to put it, so she just says, “And Ben was a jerk, too.”

To her surprise and relief, her aunt nods. She has a sad, resigned smile on her face. “His friends tend to have that effect on him. There are some days when he’s actually pretty tolerable, but when he’s been hanging out with those friends of his, or talking to them on the internet, he turns into….”

“Kylo Ren,” Rey says, her voice bitter.

“Exactly,” Leia says.

Luke thinks carefully before speaking. “You have to remember that his friends’ families are all part of the First Order, so he’s the outsider there. As a result, I’m sure he feels like he has to try harder to fit in and earn their approval.”

“That sounds like the First Order all right,” Finn mutters.

Rey feels her jaw clench with frustration. She makes a mental effort to relax, breathing in and out. “So what am I supposed to do?”

“Be patient with him,” Luke says.

“And forgive him,” Leia adds. “When you can. You’re going to get frustrated with him, and that’s okay. Trust me, I’m sure he’ll deserve it. But try not to hold a grudge. I know it’s a lot to ask, but I know you’re a sweet person.” She looks from Rey to Finn and back. “Both of you. And he’s my son.”

Rey exchanges a look with Finn. He shrugs. She bites her lip. “I can’t promise anything,” she begins.

Leia gives her a weary, tender smile. “I know. But thank you.”

Luke’s eyes shine as he looks at his daughter and her friend. “These kids are really something else, aren’t they?” He thinks for a second. “You know what? I think you two should finish these fries. Go on, you’ve earned them.”

Once they have eaten the fries, Rey and Finn say goodbye to Luke and Leia and spend some time exploring the boardwalk. There is an interesting variety of stores and restaurants, but Rey’s mind keeps returning to their upcoming volleyball game with Ben and his friends. She has played volleyball in gym class at school, and she did all right at it, but she worries about how she will measure up to the older kids. She does not want to lose the game, but she’s more nervous about losing her cousin. She worries that she may have already lost him. She knows nothing about his friends, and not much about the First Order. She had felt like she was connecting with him during the time they spent together, but she realizes now that he spends far more time in the company of these First Order friends than he does with her. They must know him far better than she does.

Part of her dreads each passing minute, and yet she also wants the agony of anticipation to end. She wishes Poe had not challenged Kylo’s friends, but she also knows that he  would not have done it if she had objected. Since they can’t take back the challenge, Rey hopes fervently that they win. This is not how she had hoped to spend her day at the beach.

The sun is getting low in the sky. Rey checks her phone to see what time it is and sighs. It’s getting near five o’clock. “It’s close enough. Let’s go.”

“We still have time,” says Finn, trying to put it off a little longer. “There’s a little aquarium near here. That could be interesting?”

Rey shakes her head. “Sorry, but I can’t wait anymore.”

They approach Hux’s family’s place, and they spot the volleyball net, where the Ben is waiting with his friends. Not far away, Poe and Jess are talking while waiting. When they see Finn and Rey approaching, they come over. Jess looks worried, but Poe smiles confidently. He says, “Okay, let’s do this. Remember, it’s just a game, so let’s try to have fun. Those guys can treat this as some kind of gauntlet, but it’s only volleyball!”

Rey gives him a shaky smile, and Finn nods. They walk up to the volleyball court, where Ben, Phasma, and Hux slouch around in poses of studied nonchalance. “I was almost worried you wouldn’t show,” says Ben. “I’m glad you decided to lose rather than forfeit.”

Rey makes a spitting, coughing sound, which is the best response she can manage in the moment.

Hux sizes them up, wrinkling his lip. “They’re too dumb to know they can’t win.”

Phasma picks up the volleyball. “Let’s get this over with.”

“Hold on a second,” says Poe.

Phasma peers at him imperiously. “Having second thoughts?”

“The teams are unfair. It’s four of us against three of you.”

Hux chuckles, and Rey shivers. “Well, you’re half right,” Hux says. “There’s four on three, but I think you’ll find that it’s four of us and three of you.” That causes Poe to hesitate, and Hux gleefully enjoys his confusion while his friends smirk. “Finn is one of us! Isn’t that right, Finn?”

Rey sees Finn’s shoulders slump, and she feels outrage replace her nervousness. “What did you just say?” She advances on Hux, and the slim redhead actually takes two steps back before Ben steps forward.

“Finn has no choice. He’s in the First Order, and that means he can’t go up against us. He knows what would happen to him if he did.”

Poe is incredulous. “What, you’d tell his parents?”

Finn speaks softly. “No, they’re right.” Then he squares his shoulders and glares. “But there’s no way I’m going to play against my friends.”

Phasma laughs. “Like we’d even want your help.”

“We’ll let you sit the game out,” Ben says, as though he’s doing Finn a favor.

“I’m sorry about this,” says Finn, moving out of the way.

Poe steps over to him and puts his hand on Finn’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, buddy. I know you’d play with us if you could.”

Rey pats Finn’s other arm. “And I know you’ll be cheering for us.”

“Thanks,” says Finn, his brown eyes full of gratitude. “Now kick their butts!”

They line up. Rey’s emotions are so stirred up that she finds it hard to concentrate on the game, and perhaps Phasma notices, because she serves the ball right to Rey. Rey reacts too late, costing her team the first point. This compounds Rey’s frustration, and when Phasma serves it to Rey again, she tries to channel it into the ball, with the result of driving the ball straight into the net. She hopes the next serve will go to someone else, but once again, Phasma serves it unerringly to Rey. She tries to give it a good, solid hit, and manages to propel is over the net, but it lands out of bounds.

Phasma smiles right at Rey, whose hands tighten into fists. She can feel tears of frustration in her eyes. “I’m sorry, you guys,” she tells her team.

“You can do this,” Poe tells her.

Jess gives her a sympathetic smile. “You don’t have to put the ball over the net. Just give it a bump, and we’ll take care of the rest.”

Rey nods, grateful. When the next serve comes at her once again, she bumps it up into the air and steps aside. Jess rushes to get to it, but does not make it in time. “That was good, though!” she says as she returns to her spot.

Finn calls to Rey from the sidelines, “Don’t worry about it, Rey! You’ve got this!”

Rey closes her eyes. She breathes in, holds it, and exhales. When she opens her eyes, they immediately lock with Phasma’s. Phasma curls her lip and launches the ball toward Rey. Rey steps under the ball and bumps it into the air with her forearms, then quickly scoots out of the way. Poe gently taps it toward Jess at the net, and Jess spikes it over. Hux scurries and manages to connect with the ball, knocking it up into the air. Phasma and Kylo both move toward it, then hesitate when they see each other. Before they can figure out which of them should go for the ball, it hits the ground on their side.

Finn jumps into the air, punching the air as he whoops with joy. Poe and Jess both high-five Rey, who laughs despite herself. They haven’t even scored yet, but they are all so happy. Rey tells herself that maybe she really can enjoy the game, but she doesn’t get her hopes up yet.

Kylo glowers at Rey’s team as he rolls the ball back toward them. When Poe prepares to serve, the team settles down, suddenly becoming focused on the ball. Poe delivers a solid serve, but Kylo has little trouble reaching it, and Hux puts it back over. The ball goes back and forth, and Rey starts to wish that the other team would just let it fall so that her team could score their first point. Perhaps Phasma feels the same urge to score, because she wallops the ball from mid-court. It hits the net, and Rey gives a wordless exclamation of joy. Her team exchanges high-fives all around.

Hux grimaces as he returns the ball. “Do you intend to celebrate every point you score?”

“Let them,” Kylo snaps. “They’ll have few enough opportunities to cheer.”

Poe only scores one more time, after which Kylo receives the ball, sets if for Phasma, and she nearly steamrolls him as she charges in for a devastating spike. Poe dives for the ball, but he can’t quite make it.

Rey helps Poe up from the sand. “Are you okay?” she asks.

His hand lingers in hers and he gives her a confident smile. “Never better.”

Rey may be the youngest and smallest member of the team, but she is determined not to let her team--her friends--down. As Hux gets ready to serve, she concentrates on making good, solid contact with the ball, not trying to get any flashy hits or trick shots. The strategy works: Hux only scores once before Poe shuts him down at the net.

Rey’s turn has come to serve, and she takes her time getting ready. The sun is low above the ocean, painting the sky orange and purple. The score is close, but Kylo’s team is still ahead. She can feel her heart thudding against her ribcage, so she concentrates on breathing and visualizing the serve. She glances over at Finn, who is leaning in her direction, a look of apprehension on his face. When he catches her look, he gives her a thumbs-up and an encouraging nod.

Rey serves the ball, and to her relief it sails beautifully over the net. Kylo gives it a good dig that sends it right back over, but Poe is ready and sets it for a spike from Jess. Hux gives the ball a good bump, Kylo sets it for Phasma, and she knocks it hard toward the corner of the court. Jess dives for it and just barely manages to save it. Rey watches the ball sail in her direction, wondering quickly how best to deal with it. She gets under it and taps it back toward Poe, who knocks it over the net. Kylo hurries to get under it, but he has to settle for a lopsided hit, which Hux fails to save. The ball lands on their side, and Rey sighs with relief: she has scored a point. Now, no matter what else happens, at least she did not serve without scoring.

On her next serve, Rey’s serve flies toward Phasma, who drives the ball straight back at Rey. Rey realizes that the ball is heading out of bounds, and she gets out of the way just in time. Phasma fumes, and Rey finds herself giving a cheeky little smile back at Phasma.

There is a long series of volleys for the next point, and Rey can see Finn growing increasingly agitated from the sideline. Poe finally manages to send the ball down the side of the court, and Phasma barely manages to connect with it, sending it out of bounds.

Rey serves again, and this time Kylo blocks it at the net. Finn dives for it, but he doesn’t make it. Rey is disappointed that it is no longer her serve, but also relieved that she did okay.

The teams trade points over the next few serves, but Kylo’s team remains in the lead. Sometimes it feels like Rey’s team has to work twice as hard for the points they score. Phasma is the most physically powerful person there, and her spikes are devastating. Hux is crafty, and he keeps whispering new strategies to his teammates to catch Rey’s team by surprise. Kylo plays recklessly, slamming the ball with all his strength every chance he gets. It ends up costing his team several points, but it also results in just as many points scored.

Poe plays fearlessly, throwing himself into the sand if necessary to get to the ball, and standing up to anyone at the net. Jess is endlessly versatile, from pinpoint serves to picture-perfect sets to decisive spikes. Once Rey starts to get more of a sense of her teammates, she starts playing to their strengths, setting up plays for Poe and Jess.

Rey’s team has almost pulled level with Kylo’s. Hux goes from Phasma to Kylo, whispering instructions to each while casting dark glares at Rey and her teammates. Jess serves, and the next point turns into a battle. Kylo’s team exploits every weakness they have seen: they overpower Jess with stinging spikes, bait Poe with challenges at the net, and intimidate Rey with the fury of their play.

“Come on, guys!” Finn calls “You can beat them! You’ve gotta keep going!”

Just when Rey thinks that Jess is about to give out, Kylo spikes a ball just beyond Jess’s reach. With a tremendous effort, Jess dives for the ball, just barely getting to it. Rey rushes in, hits the ball up to Poe, and Poe slams it over the net, smack into the center of the other team’s side.

Finn jumps up and down, cheering. “That was awesome! I can’t believe it! Great job, Jess! Amazing shot, Poe!”

Rey doesn’t share Finn’s elation. She watches with concern as Jess raises herself slowly from the sand, panting to catch her breath as sweat drips from her face. Poe hurries over to help her up, but Jess waves him off. “I’m okay,” she gasps. She has almost finished standing when Phasma returns the ball to Rey’s side by hurling it overarm, straight at Jess’s legs. The ball smacks into Jess’s shin, knocking her leg out from under her and sending her slamming into the sand again with a cry.

“Cheat! Foul! Unfair!” Finn shouts, pointing accusingly at Phasma.

Phasma puts on a facetious look of concern. “Oh, I’m so sorry!” Hux grins wolfishly while Kylo glowers at Jess, as though blaming her for getting hurt.

“Take your time. Just take it easy,” Poe says, reaching down for Jess.

Jess tries to wave Poe’s hand away like before, but Rey can see how Jess’s face is contorted with pain and drenched with sweat. When she tries to stand, she grimaces and whimpers. Ignoring Jess’s protests, Poe grabs her arm, puts it over his shoulder, and helps her to the sideline.

“I just need to catch my breath,” Jess says, trying to put on a brave smile, but it wobbles and slips from her face.

Poe touches Jess’s ankle, and Jess winces. “Looks like your ankle’s been twisted,” Poe says. “I don’t think you should play any more.”

Hux saunters over, followed by Kylo and Phasma. “Oh, too bad,” Hux tuts, “I guess you’ll have to forfeit the match.”

“That’s not fair!” Poe exclaims. “You knew we were about to take the lead, so you hurt her on purpose!”

Phasma shrugs. “I was just trying to throw the ball back. It’s not my fault she took a spill.”

Kylo says, “If Jess forfeits, you lose.”

“Well?” Hux demands. “What will it be?”

“She’s stopping,” Poe says, before Jess can say anything. “Sorry, Jess,” he adds to her. “We have no choice.”

Jess bows her head. “I’m so sorry.”

Hux preens. “Well, it seems a little disappointing, but at least it saves us some time. The outcome was never in any doubt.”

“We’ll play on with two,” Rey says.

Hux stares at her, caught off guard. “What?”

Everyone’s eyes are on her, but Rey can’t stop there. “Just have someone on your team sit out. We’ll finish the game, two on two.”

Hux’s face twists with distaste. Since Rey has made a reasonable suggestion, his victory is not as absolute as he had hoped. Nevertheless, he has an easy out. “Sorry, the game was three on three. You only have two players. You have to forfeit.”

“That’s bull!” Rey says. She squares her shoulders. She does not have a plan for what to do next, but her blood is up, and she’s not going to back down.

Phasma strides forward until she is right up against Rey. “Oh, you think so?” Her voice is cold, but her eyes blaze.

Poe stands at Rey’s shoulder, backing her up. Rey’s heart pounds and her blood roars in her ears, so she almost does not hear Finn say, “I’ll play.”

They all turn to Finn. He strides onto the court, eyes defiant. “I’ll play on their team.”

“Finn, don’t be an idiot,” Kylo says, and just for a moment Rey thinks she hears a note of sympathy in his voice. “You know what will happen.”

“You’re not playing,” Phasma says, her voice venomous.

“He can if he wants to,” says Poe.

Now that Finn is on the court, there is no backing down, and that gives him confidence. “I’m playing volleyball, Phasma!” he says. “I’m playing volleyball!”

Hux puts his hand on Phasma’s arm and pulls her back. He narrows his eyes at Finn, and Rey shivers. Whatever revenge he has planned, it will have to wait until after the game.

They line up again, with Finn serving in Jess’s place. Finn is not as warmed up as the others, and at first he is so eager to go that he serves the ball across the court, nearly out of bounds. As a result, Hux hesitates to hit it, and that is the only reason Finn scores.

Jess sits on the sidelines, resting her ankle but cheering for all she is worth. Poe and Rey pause to congratulate Finn. Rey meets his eyes, and she sees that he looks nervous but resolved.

The next point is hard-fought, and Rey finds herself caught in the middle of the action at the net. She and Kylo are at the heart of a series of dramatic exchanges. Kylo is forced to dive and roll to set it for Hux, who hits it out of bounds.

“Nice,” Kylo says, catching Rey off guard. Was that sarcasm, or an actual compliment?

Rey is glad for a chance to catch her breath. Her shirt clings to her chest and back, and she tucks some twists of hair, heavy with sweat, behind her ears.

Finn fits into the group well, and while Jess was doing a good job, Rey is proud to see that Finn is playing even better. They score several more times, widening their lead. The other team’s frustration mounts. Hux and Phasma bicker and blame each other after each point. Kylo becomes increasingly silent until Rey actually starts to worry about him.

They get to within one point of winning when Kylo manages to spike the ball into the center of their side of the court, resulting Phasma getting a chance to serve.

Phasma confers with Hux quietly before every serve, observing Rey’s team with such intensity that Rey tries to avoid eye contact with them. With each serve, they find a new way to catch Rey’s team off guard. Perhaps because they are down, Kylo’s team plays with all their strength, and soon they have almost caught up.

As Hux calls his teammates over to talk strategy, Poe takes the opportunity to gather his teammates, too. “Don’t let these thugs scare you,” he says. “We’ve played a great game so far, and I’m sure we can beat them. Call the ball, take your time, and keep your eyes open for opportunities.”

Something catches Rey’s attention on the other side of the court. The sun has nearly set, so it’s hard to make out clearly, but Hux is explaining something to Kylo with forceful gestures while Kylo shakes his head. Rey tries to hear what they are saying, but they stop talking abruptly and return to their spots. Rey’s team follows suit.

Phasma serves, then moves up. Finn sets it for Poe, who puts the ball back over. Hux goes to his knees to save it, and his hands skim the sand before he bumps the ball. Phasma sets it, and Rey sees Hux rise in her direction with something clenched in his hands. Her eyes widen, which some part of her brain realizes is the wrong reaction, as Hux throws handfuls of sand at her face. As Hux starts to throw, Kylo steps between him and Rey, his eyes on the ball as he prepares to spike it. The sand hits Kylo’s back harmlessly and he spikes it without even glancing at Rey.

Finn barely reaches the ball in time, but he is somehow able to pass it to Poe. Poe sets it for Rey, muttering, “You got this.” Rey’s mind is still spinning from Hux’s attempt at cheating and Kylo possibly saving her from it, so she spikes it on instinct. The ball goes off Hux’s forearm and sails out of bounds.

Hux is livid, his normally pale face bright red as his eyes bulge and veins throb in his temples. It is Poe’s turn to serve, and Rey knows just who he should serve it to. She steps up to Poe and he bends his ear to her. Once she has whispered her idea in his ear, he grins, straightens up, and gets ready to serve. He takes his time, letting Hux get increasingly agitated, before he serves it. Rey watches the ball fly perfectly, right to Hux. There should be no way he could mess up such an easy serve, but he charges the ball, his teeth bared. Rey watches, heart hammering, but part of her is calm, as though she already knows what will happen. Hux whacks the ball with all the strength he can muster, and it smacks into the net with such force that it seems to hang there for a moment before flying back out of control and landing in the sand.

Finn, Poe, and Rey rush together, giving each other high-fives while Jess cheers wildly from the sidelines. Rey moves over to Jess so that she is included in their victory celebration, and Poe lets her lean on his shoulder so that she can join them.

Rey feels elated, surrounded by smiling faces. In the short time she has known her, Jess has accepted her as a friend, and Jess congratulates her with so much enthusiasm that it is hard to remember that she only met her today. Poe and Finn are both jubilant, and it is hard to say which of them is happier about their win. Finn seems determined to live up this moment, putting aside thoughts of future consequences. He hugs Rey tightly and lifts her feet off the ground. She hugs him back as hard as she can, laughing and whooping. When Finn puts her down, Poe announces that the winning strategy came from Rey. He takes one of her hands and raises it into the air while pointing at her with his other hand, like a boxing referee announcing the winner.

Rey knows that the win was not hers alone, not by a long shot, and she tries to return every compliment she receives with another compliment, reminding the others of awesome spikes, great saves, and successful strategies.

The sun has slipped beneath the ocean’s horizon now, and the court and players have taken on an otherworldly look. Hux and Phasma stalk over, and Rey can tell from their faces that they are determined to ruin the mood. Sure enough, they start making excuses for why they lost, talking over each other as they complain that Finn was fresh while the rest of them were tired from the game, or that the setting sun had made it hard to see the ball, or that a certain point was clearly out of bounds. Kylo just glares moodily. Rey can’t tell if he’s mad at anything in particular, or just mad in general.

“Looks like the First Order doesn’t teach you how to lose gracefully,” Poe says.

“That’s because the First Order does not lose to the likes of you!” Hux declares.

Jess laughs. “You just did.”

Hux points at her. “The game was over when this one forfeited! We played out the match to humor you--”

“Don’t do us any favors,” Poe retorts.

Hux ignores him and keeps going. “--and this traitor’s interference changes nothing, except to ensure that he will never be allowed to spend time with any of you again!”

Rey and her friends don’t know what to say to that. Phasma chuckles. “I’m sure that won’t be your only punishment, but I think it will be the most fitting. You thought you could side with your precious friends against the First Order. You will soon learn that the First Order does not ask your loyalty; it demands it!”

Rey’s stomach twists. Could the First Order really be so petty? Looking at their faces, she knows that this goes beyond a volleyball game to them. They see this as a betrayal of their values, and she has a sick feeling that they will follow through on their threats.

Hux smirks, his face sadistic. “How will you like that?

“You’re cowards,” Finn says, his voice trembling. “Cowards and bullies!”

Kylo’s face twists at those words, but he remains silent. Hux, however, does not let that go. “Oh yes, keep talking. Everything you say will only make things worse for you.”

Rey has to say something. “I don’t think so.” She has a half-formed idea in her mind that is growing clearer by the moment. When everyone turns to look at her, though, she finds herself tongue-tied, struggling to put the idea into words.

Hux narrows his eyes. “What did you say?”

“I’m sure we’d all like to hear it,” Phasma says, her voice low and dangerous.

“I don’t think that Finn will be punished,” Rey says, “and I don’t think that you will tell anyone what happened today.” Her mind races to put together an argument fast enough.

“Really?” Finn asks. He looks at her with hope, looking more confident in whatever point she is about to make than she feels, herself.

Kylo has been so quiet that Rey is surprised to hear him speak. “Finn betrayed the First Order. He will not be allowed to get away with that.”

The argument is crystallizing in Rey’s mind now, and she hopes she can get it across. “Normally, I’m sure you would love to run and tell your parents what happened, and I’m sure Finn would get in trouble. But that won’t happen this time, because you lost.”

Phasma scoffs. “So?”

Rey looks her in the eye. “The First Order is all about victory, right?”

Phasma hesitates, but Kylo nods, his expression unreadable. “That’s right.”

Rey says, “You love nothing more than destroying anyone who opposes you. But today you were beaten by a traitor and his friends. You had your chance to teach Finn a lesson by defeating him, but you weren’t good enough.” Rey can see from the faces around her that her words are having an effect. Kylo’s friends look uncomfortable, while Poe and Jess are starting to smile and nod. Finn gazes at her in admiration. Feeling emboldened, she continues. “So if you want to, by all means, go and tell your parents about what happened today. When they ask why you lost, tell them that you were beaten by a traitor. And then when they ask why he sided against you, be sure to tell them that you cheated and hurt Jess because you were going to lose otherwise.” Hux and Phasma exchange glances. Phasma looks worried, but Hux looks furious. Rey’s voice is quiet but firm as she concludes, “I am sure that your parents will love to hear about the many ways you lost tonight.”

Phasma regards her with something that Rey thinks might be respect. “All right,” she says.

If Phasma had meant to say anything else, she is interrupted when Hux steps forward and grabs Rey by the front of the shirt with one hand. His face contorts with hatred, and spit flies from his mouth into Rey’s face with each word he shouts. “If you think I’m going to take that from you...” He raises his other hand. Poe and Finn both take a step forward, and even Jess looks like she’s ready to do what she can.

“Hux.” Kylo’s voice is hard.

“What?” Hux demands, glaring at Kylo. Kylo does not say anything, and for a long moment, they just stare at each other. Then Hux lets go of Rey’s shirt and turns abruptly. “Let’s go.” Phasma follows him as he stalks off toward his parents’ house.

Rey expects Kylo to follow them, but he doesn’t. “You okay?” he asks.

“Yeah,” Rey says, smoothing down the front of her shirt. “Thanks.”

Nobody knows what to do next. The others look at Kylo with distrust. Rey just feels relieved that things seem to be over. Finally, Poe calls Hux something that Rey would not repeat, and everyone agrees.

The tension lifted, Poe says, “I’ll bet your folks are wondering where you are.”

Rey finds that she would really love to see the comforting faces of her dad, aunt, and uncle again. “Yeah. Let’s go find them.” She turns to Jess. “I’m sure they would like to meet you.”

Poe supports Jess, whose ankle is starting to feel better, as they make their way back to the beach. Kylo walks apart from the others, looking pensive. In the time they have been playing, the beach has mostly cleared out, and it is not hard to see where Luke, Leia, and Han are waiting.

Finn walks next to Rey. “I really appreciate how you stood up for me back there.”

“I dunno. I felt pretty nervous,” Rey says with a self-deprecating smile.

“You were totally awesome,” Finn insists. Rey feels a thrill that delights and confuses her. She does not know why she feels this now, when Finn has always been generous with his praise. “And you know what?” Finn says. “You sounded just like your aunt.”

Rey looks at him with surprise. Finn really looks like he means it. Rey had never thought of herself as being anywhere near as persuasive as her aunt, but now as she thinks back at how it felt when she was talking, she realizes that she must have been using skills she learned from watching her aunt. The realization is surprising, and strangely humbling.

“Thanks,” she replies. A silence stretches out between them that eventually becomes comfortable again.

By the time they arrive, Jess is able to walk unaided, though she is still limping a bit. Leia greets them with, “Did you win?” The circle of smiles gives her her answer.

Luke awakes from a snooze, and he, Han, and Leia are introduced to Jess. Luke puts some ice from the ice chest into a plastic bag and gives it to Jess to ice her ankle.

Everyone starts trying to tell the story at once, but Han interrupts them with a wave. “All right, all right. Let’s hear the whole thing over dinner. I’m starving.” He looks at Poe and Jess. “You two want to join us? Our treat.”

“There’s a pizza place we usually go,” Leia adds. “How does that sound?”

Unsurprisingly, pizza sounds good to everyone.

Rey helps pack things up, and they take down the umbrella, shake out the towels and fold them up, and collapse the beach chairs. Rey feels a touch on her arm. She turns to see her cousin. He looks like he has something to say, so Rey lets herself fall behind so that the two of them can talk.

“Those guys acted like jerks,” he says.

Rey raises her eyebrows at the understatement. “Those guys _are_ jerks.”

“Yeah,” he admits, looking uncomfortable. “And I know that I can be a jerk, too, sometimes.”

“Sometimes,” Rey agrees, and she waits for him to keep going.

“It’s just, I always thought that those guys… my friends…” He scowls, unable to find the right words. “Guys like Finn and Poe don’t want to be friends with people like me.”

Rey is tempted to say that isn’t true, but she understands. “You thought only people like Hux and Phasma would want to be your friends.”

He nods, grateful that she has put it into words. “Yeah.”

They walk together in silence for a while. Up ahead, Luke tells a joke that includes the pun “ _pizza_ on Earth,” and people groan. Rey breaks the silence. “You know, Kylo Ren, you’re probably still a jerk, just maybe not as big of a jerk as you are around those guys.”

He smiles. “Yeah.” They reach Han and Leia’s car, where they help stash the things. As they turn toward the pizza place, her cousin adds, “And it’s okay if you want to call me Ben.”


End file.
